If you hear me let me know
by TOAD121x
Summary: Sequel to 'the fears of yesterday' -note- Don't expect upates regularly after chapter 21 is up.
1. About Time

Scootaloo laid in Lightning's embrace. They had spent the night with each other after Lightning proposed, and Scootaloo couldn't think of anywhere she'd rather be. The couple had spent the last half hour curled up together in silence, Lightning gently stroking Scootaloo's mane the whole time. Despite how long they had been dating, they had never moved in with each other. Neither of them agreed with the idea of moving in with a pony they weren't married to, and given how little they were in Ponyville at the same time, moving in just didn't make any sense. That was all about to change though. Scootaloo fiddled with the necklace that hung loosely around her neck. She moved her head and kissed Lightning-her fiance. She loved thinking of him as such. She had been waiting for him to propose for years, and was getting more annoyed with every year that she lived unmarried to him. She kissed him again.

"There a reason for that?" Lightning smiled down at Scootaloo.

"Do I need one?" She responded, challenge evident in her voice.

"Do you want one?"

"Don't I already have one?"

"Do you think you do?"

"Yes, I -wait- buck. You win." The couple laughed. Even after seven years they were still playing their silly game of questions. Somehow it just never got old. The couple felt like they were schoolponies again. It had been far too long since they had just laid in each other's embrace. It felt wonderful. It wasn't long before Scootaloo had fallen asleep. Lightning stroked his sleeping fiance's mane.

/Scootaloo...is my fiance...I like the way that sounds/. The thought made Lightning smile. He looked at the clock. It was 10:30. He gently shook Scootaloo awake.

"Uggh, why'd you have to go and do that?" Scootaloo asked with a grunt.

"Because tomorrow we have to get up early and go to Canterlot for that big show you guys are doing. And since the alarm clock is in your room, it looks like we're gonna have to move."

"That doesn't start until six at night...and we're not on until around ten. But I think I prefer the idea of sleeping on a bed as opposed to a couch anyway." Scootaloo groggily stood up and made her way to her room. Lightning followed close behind. When they reached her bedroom they curled up together on her bed. Lightning set the alarm, and before they knew it they were both asleep, each dreaming of the life that was now set before them. At that moment, nothing mattered to either pony except that they were each in the embrace of the love of their lives.

The horrendous series of noises that could only come from Scootaloo's alarm clock woke both of the ponies instantly. Lightning jumped out of bed.

"Scootaloo, what the HAY is that? Is...is that a screaming foal?! And...Nails on a chalkboard?!" Scootaloo smashed the alarm with a force that should have destroyed it, yet somehow the resilient piece of screaming plastic held it's own. It immediately shut itself off.

"What can I say? It works, doesn't it?" Scootaloo shrugged as she crawled out of bed.

"So does obnoxious beeping." Lightning gave Scootaloo a deadpan stare. She walked over to him and planted a kiss on his muzzle.

"Good morning to you too, Lightning." Lightning blushed and returned the favor. Scootaloo pulled away and smiled. She took a look at the necklace that laid on her nightstand. She made her way to her bathroom, giving Lightning a quick whip with her tail as she passed him.

"What was that about?" His curiosity was piqued. Not to mention he was now quite aroused, despite how early it was.

"I'm taking a shower. You're not going to make me do that alone are you?" Lightning grinned.

"I thought we were going to wait until we were married for the more...intimate activities."

"Who said anything about sex? You're just so much hotter when you're wet."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Lightning followed his fiance to the shower. This was going to be a good day.

Lightning and Scootaloo landed on the porch of the Dash home. They had agreed to fly out to Canterlot with Rainbow, Spitfire and Steel. Scootaloo pushed the door open, and to nopony's surprise Spitfire was already cooking breakfast. She stopped when she saw the new piece of jewellery that adorned her daughter's neck. Spitfire smiled warmly.

"Hey Rainbow! Our daughter has a shiny new necklace! I like it!" Rainbow rubbed her eyes as she entered the kitchen.

"Wow. He spared no expense. I'm impressed." Rainbow hugged her daughter. "I'm really happy for you, Scoot." She then gave a quick grin in Lightning's direction. "Even if it took the colt at least five years longer than it should have to actually propose." Lightning blushed. At this point in the conversation, Steel had woken to the smell of Spitfire's cooking and made his way to the kitchen. Steel hadn't changed much by means of appearance over the last seven years. He made no effort to style his unkempt mane for any reason, and didn't care how his coat looked. It drove Rarity insane. However, since his adoption an image of a burning set of wings had appeared on his flank. When he saw Scootaloo and Lightning he grinned.

"Hey there, Rockstar. What's up, Hotshot?" Lightning, in return, grinned at Steel.

"Just meeting up with your lazy flank before we all head to Canterlot for Scoot's show." Steel looked Scootaloo over.

"Something's different...does it involve that shiny thing hanging from your neck?" Scootaloo laughed.

"Yes it does. Steel, I'm pleased to inform you that Lightning is going to be your brother in law very soon." Steel managed a grunt as a response.

"Took you long enough."

"Well, now that we're all up to speed, what do you guys say to getting some food? Breakfast is ready." Before Spitfire could react, everypony had already found a seat at the table in the kitchen. Spitfire laughed and began to serve everypony. As usual, she herself took her own helping last. As the family ate, Steel looked around. Everypony was smiling and laughing together. Everything seemed right with the world. Then again, for Steel, the fact that everything /seemed/ right was exactly the problem. He had many doubts that he couldn't shake. Even though he now understood that his father hadn't been good to Scootaloo, what was to say she didn't deserve it? His father had only hit him when he deserved it, and Steel still couldn't remember ever being beaten by him. Every day Steel found it harder to put on his facade of trust and love for his family. The anger that burned inside him remained. Living with his sister's adoptive parents was an everyday reminder of the family that had been ripped away from him. The father and mother he had before coming to this small town. He still vividly remembered seeing his father's broken body before him. It haunted his dreams almost every night. And he could barely manage to look at his sister without attacking her for killing him. One day, all of his questions would be answered. One day very soon.

"Go away, it's early and I'm hungover. I-who the buck are you?" Sweetie Belle's voice was incredibly haggard. It was obvious she had gotten a full night of drinking in the night before, and it was also obvious a less-than-moral stallion had taken advantage of that. It was made even more obvious when a weak, white aura enveloped the door and the stallion was forced outside. Scootaloo planted a hoof in the scumbag's face for taking advantage of her friend. He grunted and took off down the hallway. Scootaloo facehoofed. Sweetie Belle walked to the door. Her usually pink and purple mane had been died red and black, and although she normally had it styled in a spiked mohawk, it now hung desheveled around her face. Her tail, equally disheveled, bore the same color pattern and hung about halfway down her hind legs.

"So Sweets, what happened last night?" Scootaloo asked casually. This was not an uncommon conversation between the two friends.

"Same as always, Scoot. Not a buckin' clue."

"Perhaps you should quit drinking."

"You're probably right. If you'll excuse me, I need to go clean myself. And buy a pregnancy test."

"You know you won't be able to tell for another month, right?"

"I like to be prepared ahead of time."

"Fair enough."

"Scoot, do my eyes deceive me or is that a shiny new engagement necklace?" Scootaloo blushed and smiled.

"It sure is! Lightning finally proposed last night. Took him long enough."

"And you said yes? You always were an idiot, Scoot."

"Just because I don't screw every pony that buys me a drink doesn't mean I'm an idiot."

"No, you're an idiot because you're submitting to marriage with a stallion that dated you for seven years and didn't give you ANYTHING. Where is his sorry flank anyway? I thought you said he was coming to this one."

"He's watching Steel. My parents wanted to take a day for themselves in Canterlot, and you know how Steel looks up to Lightning."

"Yeah, kind of like your obsession with Rainbow Dash before she adopted you, but a LOT less extreme."

"Pretty much. Where's everypony else?"

"Sleeping. Like I was trying to do when you began obnoxiously knocking on my door."

"Sweets, it's ten in the morning. It's time for you to get up."

"When every voice isn't a scream and and I can open my eyes without being blinded it will be time for me to get up." With that, Sweetie Belle closed the door to her hotel room in Scootaloo's face. Scootaloo simply facehoofed and walked away. It was when she saw Sweetie Belle and her other bandmates in that condition that she was glad she wasn't much of a drinker. She decided to go find Lightning and Steel. She wasn't going to have much time to spend with them before the show started and she wanted to take every moment she could right now to focus on her personal life. On her family.

"You're getting hitched?! Are you retarded Scoot?!" Kitty was stunned. The fact that anypony ever got married was something she didn't understand, and why Scootaloo was making that mistake was something she couldn't fathom.

"Kat, lay off of her. If she wants to spend her whole life only buckin' one stallion that's her choice." Jimmy was attempting to defend Scootaloo, but the thought of 'bucking' made Scootaloo shudder. She was happy to use that word as a form of profanity, but to actually have sex rough enough to be considered a 'bucking' was a thought that made Scootaloo's groin hurt.

"I better not ever get a bucking from Lightning...I'm not into rough stuff."

"How the hay would you know? You've never even had sex before! You've been with the same bucking stallion for SEVEN bucking years and you haven't even screwed him once! SEVEN YEARS!" Sweetie Belle didn't understand Scootaloo's desire to wait until she was married for sex. Especially when the stallion she was waiting to marry was Lightning. A mare has needs, and that stallion wasn't meeting hers.

"I'm pretty sure that will change tonight." Scootaloo said with a grin as she sipped from her cider.

"But you're not married." Sweetie teased. "That would break your moral standards." Scootaloo grinned. She still didn't look up from her cider.

"Ahh, but that's where you're wrong. We have a song that has a wedding scene in it."

"Scoot, what are you-" Scootaloo put on her best puppy dog face and looked at Sweetie Belle.

"Sweetie Belle, will you marry me and Lightning on stage tonight for all the world to see?" Sweetie Belle grinned.

"You never do miss a chance to add a visual element to one of our shows."

"You buckers enjoying the show?!" Sweetie Belle shouted into her microphone. The audience screamed in response. "Glad to hear it! Now, something happened recently that is going to cause us to make some changes here in Iron Pony. I'm sure many of you out there see the shiny new necklace Scoot is wearing. That's because the idiot decided to go and get herself hitched." The crowd screamed again in applause. "Now, I still think she's an idiot for her decision to say yes when she was proposed to, but I really am happy for her. We all are. In fact, we're so happy that we're going to interrupt our usual performance to bring out the unfortunate stallion that's going to marry her and play a love song for the two of them." As she finished her sentence, Lightning flew out of the sky with a stormcloud trailing him and landed with a loud crack of thunder on the stage. "Nice entry Lightning."

"Thanks Sweets."

"Anyway, we wanted to play a song to share their Little Piece of Heaven watch?v=VurhzANQ_B0&ob=av2e with all of you in the audience tonight." As she finished her sentence, the ominous sound of a full orchestra and choir filled the stadium. The audience erupted in applause. After a short time playing only the orchestra and choir, the band joined in. Jimmy carried the group with a heavy drum beat. Sweetie Belle lifted her mic with her magic, and began to sing their "love story".

"Before the story begins, is it such a sin? For me to take what's mine, until the end of time! We were more than friends, before the story ends. And I will take what's mine, create what none would ever design!"

Sweetie Belle continued to sing the morbid tale of...well, love wasn't the right word. It was the first time anypony outside the band and Lightning had heard this particular song. Scootaloo didn't have much to do on her guitar because most of the music came from the recording of the orchestra, so she mostly just gave hoof gestures to demonstrate what was happening in the song. The rest of the Dash family stood in the front row of the floor. Even Steel couldn't help but rock out to the music that his sister and her band was playing.

"Almost laughed myself to tears!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHA!" Scootaloo echoed Sweetie Belle with a maniacal laugh.

"Conjuring his deepest fears!"

"Come here you bucking mule!" Then something happened that nopony in the audience expected, but everypony loved. Jimmy moved his head to a mic by his drum kit and began to scream.

"MUST'VE STABBED HIM FIFTY BUCKIN' TIMES! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! RIPPED HIS HEART OUT RIGHT BEFORE HIS EYES, EYES OVER EASY! EAT IT, EAT IT, EAT IT!"

"He was never this good in bed, even when he was sleeping! Now he's just so perfect, I've never been quite so bucking deep in!"

As the song carried on, the audience noticed it only got more and more morbid. They loved it. After a chorus of chanting from on stage, Sweetie Belle turned to Scootaloo.

"Do you take this Stallion, in death, for the rest of your natural life?"

"Yes, I do." Sweetie Belle nodded and turned to Lightning.

"Do you take this mare, in death, for the rest of your natural life?"

"I do." Lightning responded in a demonic whisper. Sweetie Belle smiled.

"I now pronounce you-" Instead of finishing the wedding ritual, Sweetie Belle jumped back into the chorus. Scootaloo kissed Lightning anyway. A mixture of applause and cat calls rang out from the watching crowd.

"But baby don't cry-aiy-aiy-aiy." The sound of rolling thunder left the speakers as Sweetie Belle thanked the audience and the band headed offstage.

That night, Lightning noticed that Scootaloo was kissing him more passionately than usual. And more forcefully. And that she was pushing him straight to his bedroom.

"What's gotten into you, Scoot?"

"You have a problem with it?"

"Not in the slightest, but I'm curious."

"Well, I've been waiting for seven years to get something out of you, and seeing as Sweets married us up there I think it's time we finally meet each other's sexual needs." Lightning grinned.

"You're very straightforward, Mrs. Spark. I've always liked that about you. Although quite frankly I don't know if that counts."

"It works for me, now get that door open so we have a bed for tonight's activities."

"Actually, if you'd look at the clock, it's two in the morning."

"Then expect to fall asleep at four."

"Ooh, forceful. Sounds tough. I like it." Lightning used his hind leg to kick his bedroom door open. Scootaloo quickly forced him onto his bed. It was going to be a long morning for the two of them.


	2. A New Day

Steel tentatively walked towards his father's broken body. He was scared, but he needed to make sure his father was alright. A pony's body wasn't supposed to bend that way, and their blood and bones belonged beneath their skin.

"Daddy? Daddy, are you OK?" Jade didn't respond. "Daddy? Daddy, wake up. Wake up Daddy, wake up!" Steel began to push Jade's body. Tears began to stream down his face. "WAKE UP DADDY! DADDY, WAKE UP!" Steel looked up, and through the tears in his eyes he saw an orange mare with a purple mane and tail flying away from the scene.

Steel jerked himself awake. He looked around his room. As rage filled his heart he got out of bed and walked to the mannequin in the corner of the room. He dragged it to the center and gave it a solid buck. The mannequin tumbled across the room and landed on it's side in the corner it started in. He was given the mannequin as a stress relief tool as suggested by his therapist. It proved a valuable tool for releasing his anger. But a single buck wasn't enough. He sprinted towards it and slammed his right forehoof down on the mannequin's head, snapping it off. He stood over it, panting. The noise woke Spitfire, and she made her way to his room.

"Steel? Everything alright?" Hearing her voice made Steel's anger flare again, but he quickly gained control of himself.

"It's fine Spitfire. Thanks." Spitfire tilted her head. She could tell he was lying, but knew it was best not to press him into talking. Ever since he had been brought into their household he had an issue with his temper. He had never felt like a part of the family, and he never made an attempt to make himself a part of it. He had even refused to change his last name. He was the son of Jade Crestfall, and he held on to that fact as if his life depended on it. Spitfire sat next to Steel.

"I can't make you tell me anything. But I just want you to know that Rainbow and I are always going to be here for you. We're your family." Steel laughed bitterly.

"My family is dead. I don't have one anymore." His words cut Spitfire deeply. She had done everything she could to bring him into their family, but he refused to have any part of it. She knew that he felt that way, but she just wished he was more grateful. Sadly, there was nothing she could do. She couldn't punish him for missing his parents. She couldn't force him to see her as family. She opted to sigh.

"I'm sorry you feel that way Steel." At a loss for words, Spitfire left Steel's room and headed back to bed. She heard the dull crack of his hooves striking the mannequin again. A single tear slid down her cheek. She crawled into bed next to her wife. Rainbow continued to sleep soundly. Spitfire wrapped her forelegs around the sleeping mare and quickly fell back into a deep sleep.

Lightning's eyes slowly creeped open. He looked around his room. Something was missing. Rather, somepony was missing. The clattering of pans from down the stairs informed him that his fiance was making breakfast. It was around that point in his train of thought that his nose began to work again. And the smell of Scootaloo's cooking assaulted his nose with a near orgasmic aroma. In a semi-conscious state of pure nasal ecstasy, he rolled out of bed and made his way downstairs.

Scootaloo heard the sound of hoofsteps coming from the stairwell. She looked up with an excited smile to greet her fiance. What she saw made her fall over laughing. Lightning stepped into the kitchen with his eyes half closed, his nose raised to the sky as if it were leading him to his destination, and the dumbest smile Scootaloo had ever seen had formed on his lips.

"I now know what heaven smells like." Lightning looked high. Scootaloo laughed.

"Wait until you taste it." Scootaloo planted a deep, sensual kiss on his muzzle. "You certainly earned this." Lightning was brought out of his stupor that the smell of Scootaloo's cooking had left him in, only to be lost in arousal from the last kiss she gave him. A loud rumble from his stomach snapped him to reality for the first time that day.

"Maybe we should eat some breakfast...But then I think I could use a shower." Lightning winked at Scootaloo as they sat down at the table together.

"I should get cleaned up as well. I'm still a little sweaty from last night."

"But Scootaloo, there's only one shower! Whatever shall we do?" Lightning grinned.

"I guess we'll just have to share. Think you can shower with a mare and not get uncomfortable?" Scootaloo responded while handing Lightning a plate of food. Lightning took the plate and pressed his lips to Scootaloo's.

"I think I'll be getting VERY comfortable in that shower with you."

Lightning and Scootaloo stepped out of the shower, each wearing a satisfied smile.

"So Lightning, does this mean our 'wedding' last night does actually count?" Scootaloo asked.

"It works for me. But you know my parents are going to want something more traditional." Scootaloo frowned.

"Define 'traditional." Lightning gave Scootaloo a condescending stare. Scootaloo swallowed. "I'm gonna have to wear a dress, aren't I?"

"I'll be stuck in a tux. Don't worry, you won't be alone." Scootaloo groaned.

"Clothes are NOT my thing."

"I don't enjoy it anymore than you do Scoot. At least you'll have some freedom in a dress. Suits are so limiting." Scootaloo groaned again.

"Fine, I'll wear a bucking dress. But you owe me for this."

"How about we move in before the wedding day? Will that make up for it?" Scootaloo pondered the thought.

"I thought you wanted to wait to move in until we were married." She gave a challenging grin. Lightning kissed her.

"As far as I'm concerned, we ARE married. This is for my family, not for us." Scootaloo smiled.

"Then moving in sounds like a fitting plan."

"So, shall we get started? I've got an empty schedule today, so if we start now we could probably be done by nightfall. We could even merge our houses since they're both made of clouds."

"As much as I'd love to, I promised I'd help Applebloom at the farm today. You know how she is." Lightning chuckled.

"Yup. Despite her career with you guys she still helps around the farm whenever she's off. What's she doing now?"

"Well, Applebuck Season is in two weeks and they need to get a new barn up to fit the excess of crops that they're gonna have. Which reminds me." Scootaloo lifted her necklace off of her. Lightning frowned.

"Why are you taking it off?" It was Scootaloo's turn to give him a condescending glance.

"I don't want anything to happen to it while I'm helping Applebloom build a new barn, do I?" Lightning laughed and kissed her.

"Good point. You gonna need my help today?"

"Nah, the rest of the band is going to help out as well."

"Ahh. You guys always did look after each other. Well, in that case, if you need me today I'll be practicing at the Sky Track."

"Great, I'll meet you for dinner?"

"Dinner? Oh, right. We woke up at noon."

"Yes we did. Does eight sound good?"

"Sounds like a plan." Lightning kissed Scootaloo again as they made their way for the door. The two ponies dove off the front porch and flew in opposite directions. Scootaloo decided to visit her parents before heading over. It was around one, so she knew they'd both be home from work.

Scootaloo pushed open the door to her parents home. Spitfire and Rainbow looked up, clearly not expecting a visitor. They smiled when they saw their daughter.

"Hey there, Scoot. What brings you out here?" Spitfire asked.

"Yeah, aren't most young brides enjoying their husbands about this time in a marriage?" Rainbow winked. Scootaloo blushed.

"I'm on my way to Sweet Apple Acres to help Applebloom with that new barn she's building and thought I'd stop by on the way. And believe me ma, I enjoyed Lightning plenty last-"

"I don't want to hear about that Scoot." Spitfire said with a facehoof. Rainbow grinned.

"Atta filly Scoot! Is sex fun or what?"

"Oh my..." Spitfire mumbled. Scootaloo laughed.

"As much as I'd love to talk about my activities from this morning with my parents, there's something I came here to talk to you about."

"Morning? What, did you two-"

"We got home late. Anyway, as I was trying to say-"

"How late?"

"Rainbow, that's enough."

"But I'm-"

"Ma, focus. The reason I came here."

"Oh fine." Rainbow huffed and sat back on her haunches. Spitfire rolled her eyes and thanked whatever powers she could that she didn't have to talk about her daughter having sex.

"Alright, now that we're focused, I came to talk to you guys about the 'wedding' from the show last night."

"That was the most awesome wedding ever Scoot. Made for a short engagement, but still."

"It was pretty cool, but here's the thing. Although that works for me and Lightning as a wedding, his parents want to do something more...traditional. So, we're still going to have a real wedding in a few months."

"So, you're not technically married then?" Spitfire asked.

"Not technically, but we feel the wedding from last night works and thus are going to treat it as the real wedding. We'll wait to take care of the legal part after the more 'normal' wedding for Lightning's family."

"Ahh. Makes sense. So, which one of us is going to walk you down the aisle?" Rainbow asked.

"I was hoping you would, Ma. You've always been more of the "father figure" so it makes sense." Rainbow let that decision stroke her ego.

"I knew she'd choose me Spitty." Rainbow winked at her wife. Spitfire kicked Rainbow in the shin.

"Umm, I'm gonna go before this turns into a battle. I'll see you guys later!" Scootaloo turned for the door.

"See you later Scoota-OW! Oh, Rainbow. You're gonna get it now!"

"You gotta catch me first Spitty!" Scootaloo laughed to herself as the sounds of her parents chasing each other around the house rang through the wall to the front porch. She spread her wings and dove off the front porch. She had to help her friend build a barn.


	3. Friends and Family

Scootaloo landed directly in front of Applebloom. Startled, the yellow earth pony dropped the toolbox she had been carrying. She sighed in relief when she saw that the latch held and nothing had spilled on the ground before glaring at Scootaloo.

"Yer late. And ya scared the hay outta me."

"Sorry Applebloom. Lightning and I got to sleep kinda late last night."

"Ah won't ask ya ta go into detail about that." Applebloom never wanted to hear about the sexual endeavors of her friends. Which made hanging out with Kitty and Sweetie Belle a somewhat difficult task for her. "But ya told me ya'd be here at ten. Ah didn't get home from Canterlot any earlier than y'all did, and Ah was out here at nine gettin' things ready."

"Sorry Applebloom. Like I said-"

"Scoot, Ah'm happy fer ya, but Ah still don't want ta hear about that. Come on, we got the foundation all done. All we gotta do now is build the barn. Which is where Ah need yer help anyway."

"Alright. What do you need me to do Applebloom?"

For the rest of the afternoon, Applebloom and the members of Iron Pony were hard at work building the barn. By the time night fell, they had the entire skeleton finished. It would take another day to finish the walls, but Applebloom wanted to do that herself. She appreciated the help her friends gave her, but sometimes musical ponies just slowed down the process. It was particularly difficult when Kitty managed to burn something with a levitation spell. She invited them all into the house for a round of cider, to which everypony happily accepted. Everypony except Scootaloo.

"Sorry guys, I promised Lightning I'd meet him for dinner."

"Come on, you're gonna spend an entire life eating dinner with him. Drink with us for a night, will ya?"

"Sorry Kat, I made plans. Besides, I'm a lot less likely to get lucky tonight if I'm drunk."

"Isn't it supposed to be the stallion talking about getting lucky?" Sweetie Belle asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, he's definitely getting lucky if it's up to me. But he won't screw me unless I'm sober. He'll think he's taking advantage of me if I'm drunk."

"You're getting married to him Scoot. If you don't screw him tonight, you'll have plenty of other chances."

"Sorry Sweets, you know full well I don't back out on plans. On the marriage note, can I talk to you in private? There's something I wanted to ask you." Sweetie Belle looked back at the others.

"When y'all are done talkin' come on inside Sweets. We'll be waitin'." Applebloom beckoned for the others to follow. Sweetie Belle and Scootlaoo were left alone. Sweetie Belle waited until the others were out of sight before turning and throwing her forelegs around Scootlaoo in a tight hug.

"What's that for Sweets?" Scootaloo asked.

"Don't play dumb with me Scoot. You know I've always had a soft spot for romance. And now you and Lightning are getting married! This is so exciting!" Sweetie Belle was on the verge of squealing.

"Why are you just now congratulating me? You told me I was an idiot every time the subject came up before."

"Because the first time it came up I was hungover, and every time after that I was with the band. And frankly when I'm with them it's a lot more fun to make jokes than it is to show how happy I am. Oh, this is gonna be so great! When's the reception? And the ceremony? Where? What time of year? What should I wear, ohmygoshthisisgonnabesogreatIcan'twaitRarityisgonn amakeyouthemostbeautifuldresseverohmy-" Scootaloo put a hoof in Sweetie Belle's mouth. A series of muffled noises that Scootaloo couldn't comprehend continued to flow from the mare's mouth. When she stopped, Scootaloo removed her hoof.

"You done?" Scootaloo asked her friend.

Sweetie Belle nodded. "Yup. I think can handle myself now."

"Good." Scootaloo sighed. She really hoped her friend would contain her excitement at her next question. "Now I was hoping you could...well, you know...be my Mare of Honor?" Sweetie Belle's eyes lit up. She then let out a squeal that rivaled that of a filly that just received her dream Hearth's Warming present. Scootaloo cringed from the damage dealt to her ears. She was used to them getting pounded by loud noises, but not of that high of a pitch.

"I'll...take that as a yes..." Scootaloo rubbed her still ringing ears. Sweetie Belle nodded ferociously and hugged Scootaloo so tightly that she began to have difficulty getting air into her lungs.

"Sweetie Belle! Need...to...breathe!"

"Woops, sorry Scoot!" Sweetie Belle released her near death grip on Scootaloo's neck. Scootaloo took the opportunity to get her breathing and heart rate back under control.

"Alright, I gotta go meet with Lightning. He'll be wondering what's taking me so long."

"He always was a punctual stallion. So, is it true what they say about pegasus stallions with big wings?" Sweetie Belle asked with a grin. Scootaloo, in turn grinned at Sweetie Belle.

"Oh yes. Very much so."

"So it did the trick for you last night?"

"Actually, we didn't have sex last night."

"Your bedroom life is going to be terribly boring, you know that right?" Sweetie Belle felt a pang of sympathy for Scootaloo. Until she saw the immense grin that spread across her face.

"We didn't have sex last night because we didn't get home until two in the morning. We fell asleep around four thirty."

"Atta filly Scootaloo! Finally lost your virginity!"

"Yeah, well it was more fun today in the shower."

"Twice! In a matter of twelve hours! I'm impressed Scoot!" Sweetie Belle raised her hoof. Scootaloo rolled her eyes and bumped her own hoof against Sweetie Belle's.

"Again, I gotta get going. Like I already said, Lightning will be wondering where I am."

"Alright, alright. You two have fun. Just remember to use protection."

"Don't worry, we won't be having a foal anytime soon. Try to stay sober tonight Sweets. We don't want a repeat of that time you woke up in bed with Jimmy."

"I thought we agreed we weren't going to talk about that again. EVER. AGAIN." Sweetie Belle gave Scootaloo a death glare. Scootaloo laughed. She was about to take to the sky when Lightning skidded to a stop right in front of her.

"L-Lightning? What are you doing here?"

"I thought I'd be a gentlecolt and meet you here." Lightning said with a smile before kissing Scootaloo. Sweetie Belle's heart melted at the sight.

"I'll leave you two alone for the night. Congratulations you two." Sweetie Belle hugged Scootaloo again, although this time it was a far more gentle embrace. Lightning gave Scootaloo an odd look as Sweetie Belle made her way to the farmhouse.

"Uhh, Scoots? What were you and Sweetie Belle doing out here all alone?"

"Making out while ingesting gratuitous amounts of alcohol and painkillers. You know, the usual." Scootaloo managed to keep a straight face while she responded.

"Alright, now tell me the real story." Lightning said while rolling his eyes and letting out a small chuckle.

"If you must know, I was asking her to be my Mare of Honor at our wedding. Oh, by the way, we should stop by Nurse Redheart's to see if she can give me a new trachea."

"Umm...why?"

"No reason.''

Scootaloo and Lightning decided to have dinner at Scootaloo's place. It was about time Scootaloo gave Lightning another cooking lesson as it was, and the couple thought it would be more fun to make dinner together than to eat at a restaurant. That, and each of them bore a coat and mane soaked with sweat from their activities that day, not to mention Scootaloo was caked in dirt and sawdust.

"Perhaps a shower is in order before we start making our food tonight." Scootaloo suggested with a wink. Lightning took the hint.

"I'm all yours Beautiful."

"If you play your cards right." Scootaloo gave Lightning a seductive whip with her tail. Lightning playfully bit it and followed her to the bathroom.

Spitfire was making dinner for her own spouse when she had a twitch that forced her to drop the spoon she was using to stir her pot of soup.

"DAMMIT SCOOTALOO!"

Scootaloo and Lightning stepped out of the shower. Like their last session earlier that day, they bore satisfied grins on their faces. The experience had even proven far more enjoyable in Scootaloo's larger set of facilities.

"You know, I normally would prefer a smaller shower, but that is a LOT easier when there's room to move." Lightning said as he wrapped a wing around Scootaloo.

"Yes, yes it is. Now you see why I like having a bigger house? It'll make living with you a lot easier."

"Yes, yes it will. So, what do you say? We move into your place?" Lightning asked. Scootaloo didn't even need a second to ponder the query.

"Yes indeed. No way I was gonna live in your tiny house."

"We can merge them. I can gut my place so we can have extra storage room."

"Sounds like a plan." Scootaloo said as she nuzzled her fiance. "In the meantime, I'm starving. I was working hard enough BEFORE that last workout. My stomach's on empty." As if on cue her stomach let out a rumble that roughly resembled Shepard's best death metal roar.

"Wow. I guess so. Let's get started, shall we?" Lightning gave a small bow and gestured towards the kitchen. Scootaloo giggled.

"You know, my mom probably has something made. Wanna go interrupt dinner there?" Scootaloo asked with a shrug.

"You have any energy to fly?"

"Lightning, we're within range of 'Mom Sense'. It's not exactly much of a flight."

"Alright, then let's go crash dinner at your parent's place!" Lightning pushed the door open and gently kissed Scootaloo before they took flight.

Scootaloo and Lightning landed on the front porch of the Dash home. Lightning lifted a hoof to push open the door, but Spitfire beat him to the punch from inside.

"Scootaloo, Lightning. I understand that you're grown ponies now, and I won't tell you two that you can't enjoy each other. But when you two get married can you make sure you live outside the range of my Mom Sense? I don't want to get a nervous twitch every time you two start fooling around." Lightning sheepishly lowered his head. Scootaloo laughed.

"Sorry Mom. I guess we just got carried away." Scootaloo felt she could at least apologize for disrupting her mother's evening. She wasn't actually sorry, but she was willing to fake it for her mom's sake. Spitfire laughed.

"Scootaloo, I was your age once. I know you're not the least bit sorry. Come on, I already have the table set for you two to join us."

"How did you-"

"Do we really have to go over this Scoot?"

"I guess not. Well, thanks Mom!" Scootaloo hugged her mother. Scootaloo and Lightning sat next to each other at the table. They then noticed there were only four places set. Given that Rainbow was present, that meant Steel was the one that wasn't eating with the family.

"Hey, where's Steel?" Scootaloo asked.

"He's hanging out with his friends."

"You know, I like the colts. They're perfectly cool kids. But that filly..." Rainbow shuddered. "I don't know about her."

"What's wrong with her? She's sweet, innocent, and normal by the standards of most ponies." Spitfire raised an eyebrow at Rainbow.

"That's just it. She's too 'Filly Next Door' and not enough 'Sweetie Belle'."

"I thought it was 'Filly with the Dragon Cutie Mark'."

"I've met fillies with dragon cutie marks. I've met fillies with dragon /hunter/ cutie marks. None of them are as hardcore as Sweets." Rainbow grinned. Spitfire rolled her eyes.

"She's a nice filly. Sadly we can't scare her off though. Scootaloo, why couldn't you have had a little sister?"

"Sorry, I'll go back in time and tell Jade to make his filly-bearing sperm to swim faster."

"Sounds good to me." Spitfire said.

"If you two keep at it like you are, it won't be long before you'd wish /his/ sperm would've swam a little slower." Rainbow added while gesturing towards Lightning. "Remember, I'm 37. I'm WAY too young to be a grandma."

"Don't worry, he's been protected." Scootaloo responded. At this point in time, Lightning had almost completely buried his face in his food to hide his blush. He was still far more reserved than his fiance and her family, and although he could talk about sex casually the prospect of talking to his soon-to-be in-laws about it chilled him to the core.

"You're right Scoot. He IS kinda cute when he's nervous."

"Sorry Ma, he's mine."

"I'm pretty sure you know by now that I don't swing that way. Besides, there's no way he's as good in bed as Wildfire." Spitfire's wings snapped open. She shot an angry glare at Rainbow while forcing them back against her sides. Scootaloo almost fell over laughing.

"Rainbow! What did I say about the use of that name?"

"That we only use in the-"

"THAT WAS RHETORICAL!" A hot blush had spread across Spitfire's face. Rainbow laughed.

"Come on, it isn't like she hasn't heard that name before." Rainbow shrunk under Spitfire's glare. "Alright, alright I'm sermafugler." Rainbow mumbled her unique apology. Somehow she still had yet to learn how to properly apologize.

"Apology accepted." Spitfire nuzzled Rainbow. Scootaloo looked over at Lightning. He had left the cover of his meal and wore a warm smile at the sight of his mothers-in-law sharing one of their peculiar moments where their love for each other was most evident. Lightning met Scootaloo's gaze and wrapped a wing around her. He pulled her close and planted a gentle kiss on the top of her head.

Scootaloo and Lightning stumbled into their home. They had eaten far too much of Spitfire's cooking, and now they each just wanted to get some rest. As they crawled into bed, they took a moment to gaze into each other's eyes. In them, they saw more than just the pony they loved. They saw their future together. The lives they would share, the family they would raise. They saw the pony that would help them through every hardship that was to come. The two ponies pulled each other close and brought their lips together in a passionate embrace. It was in the embrace of each other's lips that the two fell asleep.


	4. This Can't Be Happening

Kitty popped open the bottle of painkillers she kept in her medicine cabinet. /Probably not the smartest thing after a few mugs of Apple family cider, but oh well./ She poured a couple of the pills into her open hoof and popped them into her mouth. /Down the hatch./ She aimlessly wandered around her Ponyville home waiting for the drugs to take effect. She knew deep down that she had a problem, but wasn't about to accept it for what it was. As long as she could stay in denial she had nothing to worry about. At least that's what she thought before a sharp pain in her chest caused her to stop in her tracks. Her legs went numb and gave out from under her. As she collapsed onto the floor she thought she heard somepony knocking at the door.

Scootaloo and Lightning woke to a furious knocking at their door. Scootaloo looked at the clock.

"Who is here at two in the bucking morning?" She grunted.

"You know we don't have to answer the door. Come on, let's go back to sleep." Lightning pulled her close. Nothing irritated him more than disturbances this late into the night and he ALWAYS ignored them. The knocking picked up again. This time it didn't stop.

"This had better be important..." Scootaloo grunted as she got up. She pushed the door open and was surprised to see Sweetie Belle and Pinkie Pie in Pinkie's hot air balloon. She noticed that Pinkie's mane hung flat against her face and the usually perky mare held an odd air of sadness about her. Sweetie Belle's eyes were red and puffy, and her muzzle was wet from crying. Scootaloo instantly woke.

"Sweets, what's going on?"

"It's Kat...she...I don't know if she's gonna make it through this one Scoot." All the color drained from Scootaloo's face.

"What happened?

"She...took way too many of them. After she was drinking with us...Scoot, it's bad."

"Oh no...Where is she?"

"The hospital. Pinkie Pie had a twitch and got to her house as soon as she passed out."

"What are we waiting for? Let's go." Scootaloo instantly took to the sky and rocketed toward the hospital. Lightning had managed to hear half of the conversation, and tossed a rope to Sweetie Belle. The other end was tied to his waist.

"Tie it down. I can get you guys there faster than you can on your own."

Lightning kept his wing around Scootaloo as the two stared at the pony in the hospital bed. Kitty was alive...barely. Nurse Redheart said that if Pinkie Pie hadn't gotten there when she did then the young mare would not have made it to the hospital. Pinkie sat in the corner of the room. Her mane and tail were completely deflated. Nothing broke the party pony's heart more than seeing another pony in a situation like the one Kitty was in. Sweetie Belle put her hoof on Scootaloo's shoulder and motioned for her to join the rest of the band, save Jimmy. They decided it would be best to let him stay by his sister's side. Everypony had regained control of their emotions and they needed to talk about what their next step would be after their friend woke...IF their friend woke.

"This has to stop. We've turned the other way for too long." Scootaloo started.

"Yeah. She needs rehab." Sweetie Belle added.

"She's not going to take well to that." Shepard interjected. "We need her to go willingly."

"We all know she's not gonna go willingly. Either you help me drag her sorry ass into rehab or I'll do it myself." Scootaloo said. Anger was evident in her voice.

"What about the next tour we have planned? She won't be out by then. We could probably-" Shepard was quickly cut off by Scootaloo.

"To the moon with our next tour! We all know she's too good at hiding that stuff for us to keep her in check!" Scootaloo lowered her voice after receiving an angry glare from Nurse Redheart. "She's getting professional help. No more arguing." Shepard inched away from Scootaloo. He wanted the best for Kitty just like anypony else, but he wanted to get her the help she needed with as little confrontation as possible. Unlike Scootaloo, he was not very willing to drag his friend into a rehabilitation center against her will.

"What are we going to do when she wakes up?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Tell her exactly what our intentions are and act on them. In the meantime, we need to make ourselves available for Jimmy." Scootaloo responded. The three ponies made their way to Jimmy's side. Jimmy was still in shock at the situation. He didn't cry simply because he couldn't believe that everything that was happening was in fact happening. He knew his sister had a problem and had tried to help her with it many times in the past, though it was to little avail. His attempts to help her almost always ended in a fight between them. After a while he gave up out of anger. His eyes welled with tears as the situation finally began to sink in. As soon as he felt Sweetie Belle's hoof around his shoulder he broke down into sobs. Scootaloo and Shepard put their forelegs around him as well. They all turned their heads when they heard a sad giggle from the corner of the room. Scootaloo smiled and took comfort in the fact that Lightning was able to get a giggle out of Pinkie Pie after the night's events. It wasn't long until the room fell silent.

Scootaloo woke to a series of loud, repetitive beeps. Immediately recognizing it as Lightning's alarm clock, she reached to shut it off. Only when she went to hit the alarm, it wasn't there. She then dimly remembered that she hadn't fallen asleep in Lightning's house that night. And that she hadn't fallen asleep at her own either. That she was in a hospital, and the noise was coming from a monitor that was supposed to be humming quietly and showing that her friend had a stable heartbeat. Her eyes shot open as Nurse Redheart and several assistants rushed into the room and quickly ushered the observing ponies out of it.

"Get those panels ready!"

"Yes ma'am."

"And get some adrenaline over here!"

"Are you sure ma'am? That seems-"

"DO IT!"

"Yes ma'am!" Scootaloo and the rest of the ponies that had been in the room only moments ago watched fearfully as the nurse and her assistants worked.

"Heart rate is dropping. Get me the adrenaline, now!"

"Yes ma'am. Here." Nurse Redheart pulled the cap off the syringe she had been given and pushed it into Kitty's chest. As she pushed the fluid into Kitty's chest, the monitor above Kitty's head showed an increase in her heart rate. Nurse Redheart sighed. She walked out of the room to explain the situation to her patient's friends.

"How's she doing?" Jimmy asked nervously. Nurse Redheart sighed. This was the worst part of her job.

"Not good. All we can hope for is that by the time that adrenaline wears off her system will have enough of the drugs flushed out that her heart will be able to beat on it's own."

"And if the drugs don't leave her system by then?" Sweetie Belle asked nervously. Nurse Redheart sighed again.

"Then you likely won't get a chance to say goodbye." After hearing those words, Jimmy broke down again. Sweetie Belle wrapped her forelegs around him and brought him into a loving embrace. She looked up at Scootaloo. Scootaloo noticed the tears forming in Sweetie Belle's eyes as well. And in Shepard's. And in her own. /Where's Lightning at times like this? Wait, where's Lightning?/ Scootaloo was barely able to finish her thought before Applebloom bucked the hallway doors open. Lightning trailed behind her, making sure to keep his distance.

"Why in th' HAY did nopony tell me about this until now?!" Applebloom's eyes began to well with tears. "Y'all think she means any less ta me jus' 'cause Ah ain't a part o' yer band?!" Everypony watching Kitty felt a pang of regret for forgetting Applebloom.

"I'm sorry Applebloom. I guess we just kinda forgot." Jimmy managed to say. Applebloom gave him a warm hug.

"Don't y'all worry none, she's yer sister. Ah wouldn't expect ya to be runnin' to th' farm ta let me know." Applebloom looked around the room. "Sorry y'all. Ah guess Ah lost mah temper a little. How's she doin'?" No words were needed for Applebloom to know that she was forgiven. Scootaloo sighed. She was going to have to be the one to tell Applebloom. Lightning wrapped a wing around her and she gladly accepted the comforting gesture.

"It doesn't look good Applebloom. She really overdid it this time. Just before you got here her heart almost stopped. Nurse Redheart gave her some adrenaline, but after that wears off we can only hope her heart will be able to run on it's own."

"So what yer sayin' is we have to be ready ta lose her?" Applebloom's eyes welled with tears.

"Yeah..." Scootaloo mumbled. She buried her face in Lightning's chest and let the sobs come. Pinkie Pie wrapped her forelegs around Applebloom as she began to cry as well.

Two hours had passed since Kitty had been given the adrenaline. Scootaloo looked up at the clock. It was 6:30. Nopony had gotten any sleep since Kitty's near-death, and nopony had been allowed in her room since then that wasn't hospital staff. Celestia's sun had begun to creep up on the horizon and was beginning to flood natural light into the hospital's hallway. The rest of the band had decided to take a break from touring and recording. "A Hiatus" is what it would be called. They also agreed to take every effort to ensure the media didn't get a hold of any information regarding to the real reason for the hiatus. They had decided to stick with the "Scootaloo is getting married and needs some time away from work" story. After they had established how they would handle the situation they were in, they stopped talking. It had been almost an hour since anypony spoke at all. Which is why the alarm from Kitty's room was especially startling for the ponies waiting in the hallway. And why Nurse Redheart was able to get into her room to again attempt to save her patient's life much faster than she had before.

"Get those panels ready. If her heart stops we'll need to act quickly if there's going to be any hope of starting it again."

"Yes ma'am. You want to try more adrenaline?"

"No, not so soon. That could kill her just as easily as the drugs she took earlier can."

"So we wait?"

"We prepare."

Everypony in the hallway watched in fear as the hospital staffed prepared for the worst. Scootaloo's eyes were glued to the monitor that was showing a rapidly slowing heart rate. The beeps began to grow louder and more frequent. And then they stopped, replaced by one long, dull tone. A long, flat line adorned the screen of the monitor.


	5. Not On My Watch

/No. Not again. I'm not losing another patient./ Nurse Redheart heard the sobs of her patient's friends outside, particularly from the large male unicorn in the center of the group. Her patient's older brother.

"Like hay you're dying on me! Bring me the panels!"

"Yes Ma'am!"

Nurse Redheart noticed with relief that the panels were already charged. There might be hope after all.

"Clear!" She pressed the panels down on the young mare's chest. Her body bounced up, but there was no response on the monitor. She got ready to press the panels down on her patient's chest again. "Listen here you stupid bitch! You're time isn't up until I say it's up! Clear!" Again, Kitty's body bounced, but this time there was a small flutter on the monitor. They had brought her back, but only for a moment. Nurse Redheart shot a glare at Kitty's chest. "Like hay you're dying on me! Beat you stupid mother bucker, beat!" She would have to apologize later for using such profanity in the operating room. "Clear!" She pressed the panels down one final time on Kitty's chest. Again, the young mare lurched forward, but this time the monitor showed an erratic heart beat. What mattered to Nurse Redheart and everypony else in the room was that she had a heartbeat. She set the panels down. She leaned against the wall and began to laugh. The door burst open and Jimmy ran in.

"Nurse, is she going to be alright?"

"She is now. I wasn't going to let her stay dead." Her expression grew very stern. "She should not be alive right now. If this happens again, it's unlikely she'll survive. She's a VERY lucky mare."

"We're taking time off from touring and recording to put her through rehab. I sincerely hope the prospect of refusing treatment doesn't consider crossing her mind." Scootaloo said as she stepped in the room.

"Scootaloo! So nice to see you here without having to give you medical attention!" Nurse Redheart hoped a joke would lighten the mood. Scootaloo laughed.

"Yeah, I was somewhat of a regular here a while back wasn't I?"

"Indeed you were. How's that ear?"

"It works."

"It would be working a lot better if you had appreciated my efforts to reattach it."

"Some things are more important Nurse. Besides, you still got paid for your work."

"You know as well as I do that I don't do this for the money Scootaloo."

"Yeah. I know." Scootaloo looked over at Kitty as she finished her sentence. Jimmy was standing over her.

"Kat...If you died on me..." He rested his head against her shoulder. "We'll help you get better. I promise. No matter what it takes."

Nurse Redheart walked over to Jimmy. She hated herself for what she was about to say, but he deserved the truth.

"Don't think this is over. She's stable, for now. We still don't know how much of the stuff that got her here is left in her system. It's possible that before long her heart could stop again. We won't be able to bring her back twice. And she's not likely to wake up for another couple of hours."

"J-Jimmy? Is that you?"

"Or she could just give a nice little 'buck you' to everything I know about medicine and wake up right now." Nurse Redheart said with a huff. Immediately upon hearing Kitty's voice, everypony in the room shot to her bedside.

"Yeah Kat, it's me." Jimmy said with a snivel. "I'm right here."

Kitty looked around the room. "What in the hay happened? Why am I in a hospital bed?"

"You overdosed on pain medication you legally should not be in possession of after getting yourself mildly inebriated. If it weren't for Pinkie Pie and her Pinkie Sense, your death would have been a little more permanent. Any questions?" Nurse Redheart was always very blunt with ponies that ended up in her hospital as a result of foolishness. She hoped the "tough love" routine would help convince them that they needed to change something.

"Yeah. What do you mean by 'more permanent'?"

"She means that about five minutes ago your heart stopped." Scootaloo gestured towards the bruises appearing on Kitty's chest from where the panels had shocked her. "She managed to bring you back to life as a result of years of training, diligence, and a string of profanities that can compete with a pissed off Applejack."

"I...died?" Kitty was having difficulty comprehending the situation.

"Yeah. We lost you there. Nurse Redheart brought you back. Kitty, I'm so glad you made it." Jimmy let tears of joy flow. Kitty noticed Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle wore harder faces than her brother.

"I'm in trouble, aren't I?" She asked. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle didn't need to respond to answer her question. They did anyway.

"Yes you are. As soon as you're out of here you're going to Canterlot. There's a good rehabilitation center there. You're done with those pills." Scootaloo made sure Kitty knew she was serious. Kitty groaned.

"Don't you dare give us that Kat! Do you have any idea how sick we are of looking the other way? You have a problem and you're getting help!" Sweetie Belle was not going to take any crap from her friend.

"I don't have a problem Sweets. I don't need help." Scootaloo twitched. Before she could scream at Kat, Jimmy stepped in.

"Kitty, you were dead five minutes ago. DEAD. And it was those damn pills that did it. Don't you ever tell us you don't have a problem."

"But what about-"

"We're going on hiatus until you're clean."

Kitty's eyes widened. "You can't do that! What about-"

"It's already been decided. We'll cancel all of our upcoming shows and refund anypony who bought tickets early. You're getting help whether you like it or not."

Kitty couldn't argue. She could tell her brother was serious by the fact that he called her by her full first name instead of her nickname. And when Jimmy was serious about something he was guaranteed to follow through with every word. Deep down she was relieved. The prospect of finally being free from the addiction she refused to face was a wonderful thing, but the thought of living without the release the pills offered was not so pleasing. She lowered her head back to her pillow. Weariness washed over her.

"Alright. I'll do it. For you guys."

"Wow. She's going willingly after all. That'll make this easier." Shepard said.

"And that's the first time you've talked since she woke up. What's wrong, cat got your tongue?" Everypony laughed as Sweetie Belle realized what she said. She laughed as well. Shepard gave a loving glance in Kitty's direction.

"You could say that Sweets."

"I'm REALLY tired right now, but seeing as I don't know when I'll get to say this again, I want you to know that I love you guys." Kitty's eyelids fluttered. Jimmy rested a hoof on her shoulder.

"We love you too Kitty. Now get some sleep."

"Don't have to tell me twice." The room fell silent as Kat drifted off to sleep. The sound of an inflating balloon was heard from the corner of the room.

WOOHOO! This is the most super duper fabulatastic way last night could have POSSIBLY ended! Well, time for me to open Sugarcube Corner!"

"Hey, Pinkie?"

"Yes Lightning?" Pinkie Pie's face appeared millimeters from Lightning's. Lightning wasn't sure how it had gotten there, but didn't question it.

"Could you please keep this quiet today? We don't want the world to know about her yet."

"Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" Pinkie Pie performed her age old ritual and bounced happily out of the hospital. Scootaloo walked over to Lightning and rested her head on his shoulder.

"She hasn't aged a day in the last 11 years, has she?" Lightning stated more than asked. Scootaloo laughed.

"No, she really hasn't."

After a half an hour of trying to convince Jimmy to leave his sister's side to get some breakfast, his friends gave up and decided to bring him some takeout. And after drawing straws, it was determined that Sweetie Belle received the task of being the mailmare. As the group of friends split off, Scootaloo and Lightning flew back to their home. Now that they knew their friend would be alright, nothing sounded more appealing than a good nap. It would be a few hours yet before Rainbow and Spitfire got home from work, so they had time to rest up before they went back to the hospital with their family. They landed on their front porch and stepped inside. After a quick breakfast they went to their room and laid in each other's embrace.

"I can't believe we almost lost her." Scootaloo said.

"What matters is that we didn't. Look at the bright side. If she hadn't had that brush with death you guys wouldn't be making her get the help she needs." Lightning said. "Honestly, I think this will turn out to be a good thing."

Scootaloo pondered Lightning's statement.

"I guess the family time the break from touring will provide will be nice as well. It'll be good to be Steel's sister for the first time in a while."

"You've always been his sister." Lightning was confused by Scootaloo's statement. Scootaloo gave him a condescending glance.

"I haven't been around much since the band made it in the music industry. You and I both know I've been more like the distant relative that creepily pops in and out every once in a while than his sister."

"So what are you going to do? How much do you know about him?"

"Well, I know he looks up to you. I was kinda hoping you could help me out a little." Scootaloo sighed and pressed her head into Lightning's chest. "It's kinda sad that I'm asking you to help me connect with my own brother."

Lightning smiled and brought his chin down to meet the back of Scootaloo's head.

"I'd be happy to help you out Scootaloo. But for now I think I'd like some rest. Last night was a long night."

"Yeah, it was. Too long. I'm just glad she's okay."

"We all are. Now let's not dwell on it. Kitty will be there when we visit her tonight."

"She better be." Scootaloo said as she drifted off to sleep. "She better be."

"She WHAT?!" Spitfire screamed. Rainbow's eyes nearly popped out of her head.

"Is she alright?" Rainbow asked.

"Yeah, she's alright. Well, now she is. She died at around 6:30 this morning." Scootaloo said. "Nurse Redheart brought her back." Scootaloo explained.

"Did I hear you correctly, Scoot? You said she DIED?!" Spitfire was dumbfounded. As far as she knew, when a pony died it was pretty permanent.

"Her heart stopped. After three zaps from those panel things and a slew of profanity from Nurse Redheart it started again."

"Nurse Redheart...uses profanity?" Rainbow asked. Spitfire facehoofed.

"Really Rainbow? Her friend dies of a drug overdose and gets brought back to life, and you're curious about Nurse Redheart's vocabulary?"

"Well have you heard her curse before?" Rainbow asked. Spitfire facehoofed again.

"As you were saying Scoot?"

Scootaloo laughed. Her parents were always able to lighten the mood of any situation, even if they weren't intending to.

"She's stable, for now. Nurse Redheart wants to keep her in the hospital for a few days. And after that she's off to Canterlot to get help. We're done letting her do that to herself. Next time she probably won't be able to get to the hospital in time."

"How did she get there in time last night?" Spitfire asked.

"Pinkie Pie. Her Pinkie Sense told her something bad was happening to somepony, and she followed it to Kat's house. She got there just as Kat passed out. According to the nurse, if Pinkie hadn't gotten there when she did Kat wouldn't have made it."

"Oh wow, how's Pinkie holding up?" Rainbow asked. "She doesn't take well to seeing other ponies in rough spots."

"As soon as Kat woke up her mane reinflated and she bounced away to open Sugarcube Corner."

"That mare is so random." Rainbow chuckled.

"I only have one more question." Spitfire started. "If your friend is in the hospital, why in the hay are we still here?"

"Good point. Leave a note for Steel and let's get going." Rainbow added. Spitfire picked up a pen in her mouth and began to write. After the note, which granted full refrigerator access after the completion of a given list of chores, was completed, the three mares flew off to the hospital.

Sweetie Belle carried the bag of food intended for Jimmy in her mouth. She was happy she had the chance to get some alone time with him, despite that she loathed the circumstances of it. She had always had something of a crush on him, but she refused to admit it even to herself. As she got to Kitty's room in the hospital, she pushed open the door. She stepped inside and set the bag down.

"Room Service!" Sweetie Belle sang with a grin. Jimmy turned around and gave a weak smile.

"Thanks Sweets. I appreciate it."

Sweetie Belle picked the bag up again and walked over to Jimmy. She sat down next to him and handed him the food.

"Not sure if this is all your favorite stuff, I had to guess." Sweetie Belle gave a sheepish grin and looked down.

"Thanks. I could use some food right now." Jimmy opened the bag and lifted out a small pastry. He raised an eyebrow at Sweetie Belle. "Sugarcube Corner?"

Sweetie Belle blushed and looked more curiously at the floor.

"It was the first thing I saw...If you'd like I can go find you something else." Sweetie Belle turned to see Jimmy happily munching on the pastry.

"You know me too well Sweets." Jimmy chuckled. Sweetie Belle joined in with a giggle.

"I'd hope so. We've been friends for what, thirteen years now?"

"Something like that. Well what are you waiting for, Sweets? You aren't gonna let me eat all this myself are you?"

"That was kinda the plan..."

Jimmy pushed the bag to Sweetie Belle.

"Eat something. Just because it's my sister on the bed doesn't mean this is any less stressful for you."

Sweetie Belle looked at her sleeping friend. Then down at the bag full of delicious pastries that was at her hooves. She pulled one out and happily wolfed it down.

"That felt good..." Sweetie Belle sighed. She looked over at Jimmy. He was staring sadly at his sister. Sweetie Belle took his hoof in her own and rested her head on his shoulder. Jimmy gladly accepted the comforting gesture.

"I just hope she comes out of this alright." He said sadly. Sweetie Belle shifted her head on his shoulder so she was looking at him.

"She's alive and well, Jimmy. And after we get her the help she needs we'll never have to worry about this again."

"You so sure Sweetie Belle?"

Sweetie Belle used her free hoof to turn Jimmy's head so he was facing her.

"Yes, I'm sure. Kat's a tough little bitch. She'll pull through."

Jimmy smiled at the reassurance of his friend. And that she hadn't moved her hoof from his cheek. He wasn't sure if it was the stress of the situation with his sister or the fact that he had been waiting for the opportunity since he woke up with a hangover in her bed, but he was sure Sweetie Belle wasn't expecting it. He leaned in and pressed his lips to hers. Sweetie Belle's eyes shot open, but after a brief moment they gently fluttered closed and she returned the favor.


	6. New Developments

Kitty's eyes slowly fluttered open. It took her a couple seconds to remember where she was. When she had successfully oriented herself, she assumed she was alone due to the lack of sound in the room. She looked around, and her eyes eventually came to rest on two ponies she knew very well sitting on the floor. She also noticed that their lips were locked in a very passionate embrace.

Sweetie Belle was lost in the ecstasy of the moment. /So this is what a kiss feels like when emotions are involved/ she thought to herself. /Now I see how Scootaloo managed seven years with Lightning without sex./

Jimmy's heart was pounding in his chest. He had never felt so much passion from a kiss before. /This is the most amazing thing I have ever felt/ he thought to himself. /I could get used to this./

"Umm...If you guys would like it I can pretend to be asleep and that I never saw you two making out." Kitty said with a sly grin. She could see that those two were interested in each other for years, even though neither of them would admit it to anypony. Not even themselves. Though Kitty wasn't one for romance, she knew that her brother had wanted to be with Sweetie Belle for a long time and was happy he finally had that opportunity. Sweetie Belle and Jimmy froze, their lips still locked together. Their eyes shot open. Kitty didn't know how they managed it, but somehow they rocketed to her bedside at Pinkie Speed.

"Kitty! You're awake!" Jimmy said happily, although he did let a nervous chuckle slip.

"How are you feeling Kitty?" Sweetie Belle added. Kitty laughed.

"I'm fine. But you two are nervous as hay about what I saw. Don't worry, it's nothing to be scared of. We'll all be happy for you as long as you two stay together."

"I think we'll need to have a conversation to figure out just what exactly happened there." Jimmy said with a sheepish glance at Sweetie Belle.

"Would you like me to explain?" Kitty asked sarcastically. "You sucked on Sweetie Belle's face. Not much to it."

Jimmy and Sweetie Belle blushed hotly.

"I'm hoping there was a little more to it than that." Sweetie Belle said. "It sure felt like there was more." Sweetie Belle couldn't understand why she couldn't take her eyes away from Jimmy's.

"You know, I think I do as well." Jimmy said and rested his hoof on Sweetie Belle's. Both ponies blushed madly. Kitty rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. You know, if I'm going to rehab, it's going to be a while before I get any sort of action. Can I pack a vibrator for my stay?" Kitty laughed as the two new lovers relocated their hooves to their faces.

"You always know how to ruin a bucking moment don't you?" Jimmy said.

"Fuck yeah I do!"

Jimmy and Sweetie Belle gave her a strange look.

"What the buck does 'fuck' mean?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"You know, I was trying to say 'buck', but now that I said it like that, 'fuck' sounds a lot better doesn't it?"

"Not so much Kat."

"Come on Sweets, open your mind to new additions to your vocabulary!"

"It actually does roll off the tongue a little better." Jimmy added. Sweetie Belle thought about it.

"Buck...fuck...buck you...fuck you..." Sweetie Belle facehoofed again. "I hate to admit it, but she's right. It really does flow a lot nicer."

"Fuck yeah! We've created a new word! Buck is no longer profane!" Kitty exclaimed and threw her hooves in the air.

"As much as I like it, we should stick with what works." Rainbow butted in as she stepped into the room.

"How are you feeling Kitty?" Spitfire asked.

"Better than I was last night. I'm guessing Scootaloo told you what happened?" Kitty gave the ground a sheepish stare. She had always looked up to Rainbow and Spitfire as if they were her own parents. Everypony in the band did. She hated to disappoint them.

"Yeah, she did." Spitfire responded. Rainbow remained silent. She wasn't so good at these situations.

"I'm sorry. I-"

"You've already been forgiven Kat." Scootaloo interrupted. "We still love you, which is why we're getting you the help you need."

"What she said." Rainbow added. She then noticed the bag on the floor.

"What's in the bag?"

"Oh, just a little something I got for Jimmy. He wouldn't leave the room, so I brought him food." Sweetie Belle responded.

"You mean you didn't just come here to make out with him?" Kitty asked. All eyes were immediately locked on Sweetie Belle and Jimmy. The two ponies facehoofed simultaneously.

"Really Kat? Really?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"You guys didn't seem afraid of me finding out. What's wrong with these ponies knowing?"

"You two...made out?" Scootaloo asked.

"We...kissed...a little..." Jimmy said while staring at the floor.

"That's wonderful! I always knew you two were made for each other!" Spitfire said happily. Jimmy and Sweetie Belle continued staring at the floor, hot blushes adorning their faces.

"It just kinda...happened. I don't think either of us actually expected it." Sweetie Belle explained. Spitfire and Rainbow looked at each other. They flew behind Sweetie Belle and Jimmy and pushed them out the door.

"What are you two doing?!" Jimmy shouted.

"You two come back when you've figured out what in the hay happened." Spitfire said.

"But-" Sweetie Belle didn't get to say anything else before the door to Kat's room was shut in her and Jimmy's faces.

"Well this is awkward."

Spitfire and Rainbow, satisfied with their efforts, turned their attention back to Kitty.

"What was that about?" Kitty and Scootaloo asked simultaneously.

"That sounded almost exactly like our first kiss." Spitfire responded. "We didn't plan it, I just kinda jumped on Rainbow and did it."

"Yeah, pretty much. It was awesome. Although we were a bit less blushy about it.

"Blushy? Rainbow, I don't think that's a word." Spitfire said with a condescending glance at her wife.

"When legitimate words can't describe what I want to say I make words up. Don't buck with my method."

Spitfire chuckled and rested her head on Rainbow's shoulder.

"Don't worry Rainbow. I love your method."

Scootaloo and Kitty smiled. Scootaloo looked over at her friend.

"AHA!" Scootaloo shouted, startling everypony in the small room.

"Scootaloo, what in the hay was that about?" Kitty asked.

"I knew your emotional side would come out sooner or later Kat!"

Kitty swallowed. She knew right then that she had been caught. What was wrong with her? She had never been one for romance. She still wasn't...right? She just smiled at seeing two happy ponies...right?

Lightning landed at the edge of the Sky Track. He quickly spotted the pony he was there to see. The pony he hated to see more than anypony on the planet. The one who made his life a hell of numbers ever since he started his career in racing. His manager. Being one of the top racers in the most renowned league in Equestria was a dream come true for Lightning. At least he thought it was until he found out it meant selling his soul to the highest bidder. Advertisements, appearances, sponsorships, anything to put a bit in his manager's pocket. And he knew what this conversation was about.

"Lightning! A pleasure to see you." Lightning knew his manager was lying through his teeth.

"Cut the crap Moneybags. What do you want?"

"Well, seeing as you don't feel like doing this pleasantly I'll put it bluntly. You need to get rid of that mare of yours. She's bad for business."

Rage filled Lightning. The only thing stopping him from beating the sleezy pegasus in front of him was the possibility of an assault charge.

"No. I am not throwing away Scootaloo for the sake of money."

"Now, now, don't think about it like that! Think about it as a boost to your public image. Everypony knows that you're with a rebellious rocker mare and it looks bad. Think about your fans Lightning. They don't want to see-"

"I don't care what they want to see. I'm sick of holding back on her because of my damn career. I asked her to marry me three days ago. She said yes. You're going to have to deal with that."

Moneybags' face went cold. He spread his wings.

"Mr. Spark, you are to break off that engagement right now. What's more important to you? Your career or some mare? If the press finds out-"

"If the press finds out it will be a blessing." Lightning spread his own, much larger wings. "Do you have any idea how long I waited to propose to her on the account of YOUR miserable flank? I wanted to propose to her five years ago! FIVE. YEARS. So if the press finds out about it I'll be happy! If I get assaulted by reporters trying to get a story, I'll be happy to tell them that I asked the mare I love to spend the rest of her life with me! And I won't give a rat's furry ass about what it does to my image or your little economic empire!" Lightning pressed his face very close to his manager's. "If you're giving me a choice between this job and her, you can nullify my contract at any time. Now if you'll excuse me, my fiance's friend is in the hospital. I want to be there to comfort her if she needs it." With that, Lightning headed to the edge of the Sky Track's lobby and dove off.

Moneybags watched Lightning fly away. He glanced at his own wings and sighed.

/I always was inadequate compared to my racers/ he thought to himself.

Lightning landed in front of the Ponyville Hospital's entrance. It didn't take long for him to notice Applebloom, Applejack and Big Macintosh heading towards the hospital as well.

"Howdy Lightnin'!" Applebloom called out. "Where's Scoot?"

"She's already inside. I had to go to a meeting with my favorite jackass today, so I'm arriving late."

"Ahh. How'd that go?"

"About as well as I expected. Anyway, it's a surprise to see the two of you here." He said to Applejack and Big Mac.

"Now why's that?" Applejack asked. "Ya know full well she's as much family ta us as she is ta all o' y'all."

"Eeyup." Big Mac agreed, verbose as always.

"Good point." Lightning said. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go inside and see how she's doing." Lightning pushed the doors open and held them for the Apple family. They each nodded and thanked him as they walked through the doors. As soon as they entered the lobby they noticed Sweetie Belle and Jimmy leaning against one another. Sweetie Belle gave them a look that clearly said "Don't say a bucking word, I'll explain later." Lightning and the Apple family in turn gave her looks that said with equal clarity "I look forward to it. 7:00 tonight?" Sweetie Belle huffed. The look she gave them next was as clear as the first. It said "Fine. 7:00."

Lightning and Scootaloo stepped onto their front porch. It had been a long day for both of them. Lightning pulled the door open and gave a bow to Scootaloo.

"After you M'Lady." Lightning managed one of the worst fake Trottingham accents Scootaloo had ever heard. She laughed and took a bow.

"My my, what a gentleman." She stepped inside and noticed immediately that a letter had been slid in under the doorway.

"You've got mail." She said to Lightning. Lightning looked at the unopened envelope in Scootaloo's hoof. He reached for it, but she pulled it away.

"What are you doing Scoot?" Lightning asked.

"Why is your boss sending mail to this house? You just moved in a couple days ago."

"Your guess is as good as mine Scoot. Now let me read that." He reached for it again, but Scootaloo pulled it back farther. Lightning caught on and pretended to reach for it again. Scootaloo again pulled it away. Lightning leaned in and kissed Scootaloo.

"You caught on pretty quickly that time." She said with a smile after their lips parted.

"Were you expecting me to take longer?" Lightning asked.

"Quite frankly, I was."

"I win."

"You win wha- Oh you ass." Scootaloo and Lightning laughed. Lightning took the opportunity to snatch the letter from Scootaloo.

"Hey! Cheater!"

"It's only cheating if you get caught." Lightning responded.

"I DID catch you."

"Oh. Then yes, I am a cheater." Lightning tore open the letter. He wanted to get whatever it was over with. As he read the short note, a wide smile spread across his lips. When he got to the bottom, he walked over to the trash can and threw the letter away. As soon as he saw it hit the bottom, he jumped in the air and shouted for joy.

"What did it say?" Scootaloo asked, her curiosity very much piqued.

"Moneybags just fired me. I'm free at last!"


	7. With Time Off

"Fired?! Fired for what?!" Scootaloo yelled. "You're his top racer!"

"It could be the last five commercial shoots I didn't show up for. It could be the fact that I've been refusing to model for children's toys and calenders. It probably has something to do with the fact that I refused to leave you. I don't really care. All that matters to me is that I'm free from that horsecrap."

"Why would I have anything to do with it?" Scootaloo asked.

"Think about it Scoot. Most of the ponies that watch us racers are not into the kind of music your band performs. It's equated with the "bad pony" image. Thus, according to Moneybags, you're bad for my 'public image'. Biggest crock of shit I've ever heard."

Scootaloo was visibly hurt by those words. To be told she was bad for her stallion's public image cut her to the core. Even though she knew that Lightning didn't feel that way it hurt. She lowered her head and sat back on her haunches.

"Scootaloo...don't do that...you know I love you. Who cares what some jackass with bits thinks? Moneybags was just jealous that I got the complete package with my mare, where he only got a value meal."

Scootaloo smiled and looked up.

"What's a value meal?" She asked.

"Kinda pretty, but dumb as a bucking rock."

"And what's in the complete package?" She asked as she got back to her hooves and flashed him a seductive smile.

"Unmatched beauty complimented by the wit and free spirit of the most unique mare ever created." Lightning responded as he drew Scootaloo in for a kiss.

"Well said Lightning."

"You know it's all true."

Scootaloo gave Lightning a cocky grin.

"Of course I do. It's just nice to hear you say it."

Lightning rolled his eyes.

"I love you, cocky brat."

"And I love you, kiss-ass." The couple kissed again. Scootaloo leaned against Lightning.

"I'm beat. It's been a long day."

"Does that mean no sex tonight?" Lightning asked.

"Not tonight. Don't worry, I'll be turned on tomorrow night." Scootaloo replied.

"Aww, I was ready to go too. Oh well." Scootaloo and Lightning headed to bed and curled up in each other's forelegs. It wasn't long before Scootaloo was sound asleep. Unfortunately for Lightning, sleep wasn't going to come as easily. As happy as he was about not having to race for a living anymore, he knew that he couldn't just sit around and do nothing all day. He needed to have a job, and it needed to be one that would keep him busy. And racing, if possible. He loved racing. He loved the adrenaline rushing through him, he loved the wind in his mane. The speed, the freedom, the competition. Sadly, money had found a way to ruin racing for him. Lightning looked at his sleeping fiance.

/As long as I have her, it doesn't matter what I do with my life./ As he stared at the mare in his forelegs, he slowly drifted off to sleep.

Lightning woke to the scent of a hot breakfast. It wasn't coming from the kitchen though. Rather, it was coming from a stand right next to the bed he was sleeping on.

"Morning sleepyhead." Scootaloo said with a smile. "Made you breakfast."

Lightning looked up at his fiance, then to the tray next to his bed. He took the cup of coffee that was on the tray and sipped it. After removing the mug from his lips he let out a satisfied sigh.

"How do you make food so well, and how do you do it so early? It's only nine in the morning."

"I usually get up to watch the sunrise two or three days every week. There's just something magical about it." Scootaloo said with a blush.

"That's oddly sentimental of you." Lightning responded. "Why do you do that?" He didn't realize at the time that taking a long swig of coffee right then was a mistake.

"The first night that Soarin' visited Ponyville, I had a nightmare about the day before I moved to Ponyville. I never got back to sleep, so when the sun started to rise I got up. I watched the sunrise with my family, and it was the most beautiful thing. Then I ruined it by making a joke regarding Applejack's vagina."

Lightning immediately spewed the coffee he was drinking all over Scootaloo. Scootaloo closed her eyes, pursed her lips, and accepted that she brought that upon herself.

"Oh my...Scootaloo, I am SO sorry!" Lightning got up and and stood next to her. Though he was genuinely sorry, a sly grin crossed his lips. "Let me help you get cleaned up." Immediately after saying those words, Lightning proceeded to lick coffee off of Scootaloo's face. Scootaloo laughed and tried to push him away, but her attempt simply made her chest vulnerable to the assault from her fiance's tongue. Lightning immediately capitalized, and soon he had pushed her onto her back on the floor and was dragging his tongue all over Scootaloo's chest. Scootaloo, amidst a torrent of giggles, accidentally kicked over the tray that contained Lightning's breakfast. A blend of oatmeal, coffee, and mixed greens impacted on Lightning's back. He stopped his assault and sighed.

"You know, that kinda burns."

"You alright?" Scootaloo asked. All that hot food landing on his back at once couldn't have felt good.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I brought that on myself, didn't I?"

Scootaloo giggled and nodded.

"Pretty much. Come on, let's go get cleaned up."

Scootaloo and Lightning got up off the floor. Lightning wrapped a wing around Scootaloo's back as the young couple made their way to the shower.

"Umm...what about the mess in the bedroom?" Lightning asked.

"We'll deal with that later." Scootaloo responded as she rested her head on Lightning's shoulder.

Scootaloo and Lightning stepped out of the shower. They were clean, and somehow had managed to keep their antics clean during the course of the shower.

"So, now are we going to clean up the mess in the bedroom?"

"Yup. Fortunately it shouldn't be too hard to clean. The food wasn't enchanted to sit on clouds, just the table and the plates."

"Ahh. Wait, if the food wasn't enchanted, how-"

"I keep food in containers that are enchanted to rest on clouds before I use it."

"Ahh."

Scootaloo giggled. Lightning was generally a 'takeout or starve' pony, which had greatly displeased his trainers when he was a racer. Then it hit her. If Lightning wasn't going to be racing, how would he keep himself busy? If he wasn't doing something he'd go insane.

"Hey Lightning? If I'm not here for you to sleep with, what are you going to do with your life? You'll lose it if you have nothing to do while the band and I are on tour."

"Snips can hook me up with a mare to keep me busy while you're gone. Granted, she'll probably be twenty years older than me and loaded with diseases, but it'll be something." Lightning laughed as Scootaloo punched his shoulder.

"Be serious you ass."

"Oh fine. I heard Soarin' was looking for an assistant coach for the race team at the high school. Somepony who can whip a group of kids into shape nicely."

"Oh, that'll be a good job for you. Hopefully you won't get slowed down by high school politics too badly."

"I dealt with money politics for far too long to start dealing with angry parent politics. Buck the parents."

Scootaloo laughed.

"Hopefully you'll stick to bucking me."

"Like I said, Snips can hook me up. Maybe just a blow up doll..."

Scootaloo laughed and punched him again.

"Lightning, you'd pop a blow up doll."

"I'll take that as a compliment on the size of my tool."

"Or maybe I was telling you that you have a needle dick."

"Ooh, that's rough Scoot. I think you owe me an apology."

"I think I'll stick with making breakfast again. All I had to eat was a granola bar while I made you breakfast."

"Breakfast will work for an apology."

After eating, Scootaloo and Lightning prepared to part ways for the day. Before they left, they sat on their front porch and made plans.

"I'm going to swing by the hospital and visit Kat. I'll drop by the school when it gets out to meet up with Steel after that. What are you going to be doing?" Scootaloo hoped to meet with Lightning at some point before the end of the day.

"I'll swing by Soarin' and Fluttershy's cottage to talk to Soarin' about the coaching position. I'm not sure if it's still open, but I have a feeling he'd be willing to work me into the staff. After that it would be nice to catch up with him as well. It's been a while since I've gotten to really sit down and talk to him. I'll meet you and Steel at the school afterwards?"

"Sounds good to me." Scootaloo responded and kissed Lightning. "See you this afternoon."

"You can count on it." Lightning said before flying off. Scootaloo sighed as she watched him fly away. She then spread her own wings and dove off towards the hospital.

Lightning landed gently in front of Soarin' and Fluttershy's small cottage. He always smiled when he saw the place. It was, along with the Apple Family home, among the most welcoming places he had ever been to. He trotted to the front door and raised his hoof to knock.

"No need to knock Spark. I'm out here."

Lightning jumped at Soarin's voice. Somehow he hadn't noticed his old friend relaxing on the porch in the morning sun. Lightning smiled.

"Hey Soarin'. I was hoping to talk to you."

Now it was Soarin's turn to smile.

"Lightning. It's been too long. Come on, have a seat." Soarin' gestured towards the cushion next to himself on the small bench he was sitting on.

"What are you doing up so early Soarin'? I half expected to be waking you and Fluttershy up."

"I have a seven year old filly who needs to get to school in the morning. Sleeping in isn't an option anymore. And Shy's out and about taking care of her animal friends right now. Some company would be nice."

"You can't help her with the animals?" Lightning asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I can. Problem is that little bunny of hers still isn't a fan of me. He's adorable, but I didn't know so much hate could be crammed into one tiny creature."

Lightning let out a small chuckle. He remembered his own run-ins with Angel Bunny in the past. They were a bit less than pleasant.

"You're gonna let a little bunny stop you from helping your wife do her job?"

"That's just my excuse. I never was good with animals. And she seems to enjoy doing that by herself. Especially when she gets to the birds." As if on cue, the sound of Fluttershy's singing voice gently permeated the stillness of the morning. The morning birds soon followed, and a beautiful melody began to massage the ears of the two stallions on the porch.

"She always was a great singer."

"Yeah..." Soarin' seemed to be getting lost in the melody. He snapped himself out of it long enough to maintain his conversation with Lightning. "As much as I miss sleeping in sometimes, getting up to her and Aerial every morning is definitely worth it. Now, you came here for a reason. What is it?"

Lightning laughed. Soarin' always could read him like a book.

"I was wondering if you still had an opening for an assistant coach."

Soarin' raised a quizzical eyebrow.

"I do. But I need that coach to be in town all the time. You're a professional racer. You're traveling constantly. It's a wonder you've been in town as long as you have."

"I'm sorry, but I have to correct you. I WAS a professional racer. Got fired last night."

Soarin' smiled. He was hoping Lightning would quit before it came to that, but it worked all the same.

"Got sick of selling your soul to the highest bidder, huh?"

"That pretty much sums it up. I don't need a job to make money, Scoot pretty much has that covered. I just need something to keep me busy so I don't go insane from boredom."

Soarin' relaxed on the bench.

"In that case, the job's all yours. You can swing by practice tonight if you want to see where you fit in."

"Soarin', you coached me for four years. I know what you want from an assistant coach. Besides, tonight I have plans with Scootaloo. Apparently these wedding things take some form of planning and Scoot wants to get some of that done. I liked the wedding Sweetie performed better."

"I heard about all that. I wish I could have seen that. I guess congratulations are in order. I'll be right back." Soarin' got up and went inside his house. He emerged a few minutes later with a decanter of scotch and two glasses.

"Isn't it a little early to be drinking, Soarin'?"

"Too early for a glass of scotch to celebrate your engagement? Lightning, you've got a lot to learn." Soarin' poured a small amount of the brown fluid into each glass and hooved one to Lightning. Lightning sipped the drink and let out a satisfied sigh.

"How old is this stuff?"

"Older than you. Hay, it's probably older than me. That's why you're only getting that much. This has to be savored."

"Fair enough." Lightning responded. "Fair enough."

"Lightning, why don't you stick around for a while today. It's been far too long since you've been around and it would be nice to catch up a little."

Lightning smiled. He had been hoping Soarin' would ask that question.

"I'd love to, Coach."

Soarin' laughed.

"Lightning, I'm your friend now, not your coach. Call me Soarin'."

"I've been calling you Soarin'. I guess old habits like to sneak back every once in a while."

"In that case, get your flank inside before I have you doing Wing Pushups, Spark!"

Lightning laughed.

"YES SIR, COACH SIR!"

Scootaloo landed with a dull thud in front of Ponyville's hospital. The doctor had just gotten back from vacation and was tending to Kitty when she arrived in her room with some takeout from Kitty's favorite restaurant in Ponyville.

"Scoot, is that...food? Thank you so much, I've been eating this hospital crap for days now! There's no way that stuff can possibly be edible! It's worse than train food!"

Scootaloo laughed. Kitty had always been a bit of a drama queen when it came to food.

"I'm sure you'll survive Kat. But I figured you might like a treat. This will be the last time you get to eat from Did's Deli before you go to Canterlot."

Kitty's eyes became as wide as saucers.

"Oh no. Oh no no no. Look, I can barely survive our tours without that deli. You can't possibly be telling me I'll have to survive without it while going through rehab. Oh no no no no no no no, this is NOT good. I-"

Scootaloo cut her off with a fit of laughter.

"Don't worry, we'll pack you some for the train ride to Canterlot. And you'll even get some company. Big Mac and Shepard are going to ride along with you."

"Big Mac? I can understand why Shepard's coming, we've been tight for years. But why Mac?"

"He want's to surprise his wife at the school in Canterlot."

"Ah."

Scootaloo tossed a sandwich bag to Kitty. Kitty quickly unwrapped it and shoved the sandwich into her mouth.

"Daffodil and *nom* Daisy sub. Scootaloo, you *nom nom* know me too *nom* well."

"I'd hope so. You're as easy to order for as your brother. And all I have to do to order for your brother is go to Sugarcube Corner."

"He has a sweet tooth like nopony I've ever seen. How are things with him and Sweets by the way?"

"I don't know. They skipped out on our 7:00 meeting. Sweets is gonna pay for that."

"She made a facial promise, didn't she?"

"Yeah."

"That's weird. She never breaks facial promises."

"I know! It's like breaking a Pinkie Promise! And breaking a Pinkie Promise is one of the fastest ways to lose a friend!"

"FOREVER!"

Scootaloo and Kitty yelped in surprise as they saw Pinkie Pie retreat back into a potted plant with an angry look on her face. The plant settled back into it's place inside it's pot. Scootaloo cautiously made her way to the plant and touched it. There should have been no way for Pinkie Pie to fit inside. She picked it up. Judging by the weight, there was no way Pinkie was still in the plant. And there was no hole in the floor for Pinkie to escape to.

"I...how?" Scootaloo asked.

"That's pretty weird, even for Pinkie." Kitty said, still staring at the plant.

"Let's try not to think too hard about it."

"Good idea."

Steel made his way outside of the small junior high school in Ponyville. Autumn Wind was right where she had promised to meet him. In front of the school sign. Steel took a moment to look her over. She was as cute as a filly could be. Her golden mane and tail blended perfectly with her beige coat. He became temporarily lost in the sight of her sky blue eyes. She smiled and waved for him to come over. He could barely resist galloping to her, but he managed to limit himself to a fast trot. The two young pegasi smiled and shared a gentle nuzzle.

"Hey Autumn."

"Hey Steel." Autumn rested her head against Steel's neck. Autumn and Steel had agreed to go out together over a series of notes passed during their third class. Steel knew that his father wouldn't have approved, but he lacked the confidence to ask her out to her face. Steel put a wing on her back and they began the long walk to the lake by the Everfree forest.

"I can't wait to see the lake. It's so pretty this time of year." Autumn began.

"You're always pretty." Steel said with a blush. Autumn giggled.

"Oh Steel. You're so sweet. I'll bet Spitfire and Rainbow Dash are so happy to get to call you their son."

Steel lowered his head and stopped walking. He sat back on his haunches and began a forced breathing pattern.

"Steel? What's wrong?" Autumn sat next to him.

"I'm not their son."

"Well, yeah I know they adopted you. But they take care of you and love you like a parent."

"My parents are dead, Autumn. And they were both alive before the mares I live with now got involved."

"Steel, I'm sure it's not their fault."

"Autumn, I watched my sister kill my dad. I dream about it almost every night. My dad wasn't always the nicest pony, but I never saw him as the monster they make him out to be. I just want to know the truth!"

Autumn wasn't sure what to think. She wasn't sure what to think about any of that, so she tried not to. She rested her head against Steel's neck again.

"The mares you live with always seemed like nice ponies to me. And so does your sister. Maybe you should give them a chance."

Steel would have shot a glare at Autumn and yelled at her for being naive, but his heart had melted far too completely with her leaning against him. So instead he decided that it was possible she had a point.

"Maybe you're right Autumn. I guess I should-"

"Well isn't this an adorable sight." Scootaloo said as she landed behind the two young sweethearts. Steel and Autumn jumped in surprise.

"Scootaloo! What was that for?!" Steel yelled.

"I just stopped by to see you little bro." Scootaloo said with a smile before turning to Autumn. "You must be Autumn Wind."

"Hi Scootaloo! Steel and I were just talking about you and your parents!"

"Were you now? I hope he had some nice things to say about us. Anyway, I'm going to let you two do your thing. Steel, can we spend the day together tomorrow? I was hoping to take this afternoon, but I can see you're going to be busy tonight." Scootaloo winked at Steel and Autumn. The two young ponies blushed simultaneously. Autumn decided to be nice.

"You can come with if you want."

Scootaloo laughed.

"Sorry little one, this mare has plans with her own stallion this afternoon." Lightning landed next to Scootaloo and wrapped a wing around her back. "So Steel, I see you've found yourself a fillyfriend."

Steel blushed hotly. He tried to speak up, but couldn't find the words. Autumn giggled.

"You're cute when you're nervous Steel."

"I'm not nervous!"

Scootaloo and Lightning laughed.

"Remember when we were that age Lightning?" Scootaloo asked.

"Yeah, I do. We got into all sorts of trouble, didn't we?" Lightning responded.

"Yeah, we did. Remember when we made sure the school intercom was turned on while the principle did his daily clop that he thought nopony knew about?"

"Of course!" Lightning nearly fell over laughing. "The whole school heard him! I still remember the look on Mrs. Sevenwing's face! It was PRICELESS!"

Tears were streaming down Scootaloo's cheeks as she continued laughing.

"If that wasn't revenge for him trying to get me into his bed I would have felt bad for getting him fired." She said with a laugh.

"The bucker deserved to lose his job. You're not the only filly he tried to seduce."

"Meh, it's fine. Last I heard he's in prison. Now HE knows what it's like to have creepy stallions hitting on him all the time."

"That's what Ponyville gets for hiring a stallion from Manehatten to run a school." Lightning said with a sigh.

"Yep. Hey, where did Steel and Autumn go?"

Scootaloo and Lightning looked around. It was evident that during the recounting of the most famous prank in Ponyville's history, the two younger ponies had slipped away. Lightning laughed.

"Looks like your brother and his little fillyfriend ran off. Oh well, wanna head on home and do that planning stuff you told me we're supposed to do?"

"I want to head back home...but I don't think I feel like planning a wedding right now." A sly grin formed on Scootaloo's lips. Lightning was quick to catch on. But it wouldn't be any fun if he made it easy on Scootaloo.

"Oh really? Are you thirsty?" He asked with a wink. Scootaloo almost vomited.

"LIGHTNING! The only place I want your tool is between my legs!" Scootaloo blushed as she got some strange looks from the remaining colts and fillies around the school. And some very angry looks from all of the parents in the area.

"Umm, Scoot? Might want to keep it down." Lightning said with a laugh.

"Very funny jackass. Come on, let's go have sex."

"Sounds like a plan Scootaloo."

The two ponies took off for their home in the sky. It wasn't long before Lightning was struggling to get the door open while waging war with Scootaloo's tongue. As soon as they got the door open they fell to the floor of the foyer. They weren't going to need to go any farther into the home.


	8. Flashback:

Hearts and Hooves Day

7 Years ago...

Lightning landed powerfully on the front porch of the Dash home, sending bits of cloud in a wide arc around him. He checked his saddlebags to make sure Scootaloo's gift was still inside. He had checked four times on the way, but one could never be too sure. He pushed the door to his marefriend's home. Rainbow and Spitfire weren't home. Rainbow had surprised Spitfire with a trip to Manehatten as a Hearts and Hooves Day present, and they had left just that morning. Lightning immediately felt a pang of sympathy for the ponies in hotel rooms near that of Scootaloo's parents. Lightning noticed that something else was missing from the home.

Where in the hay was Scootaloo? She had told Lightning to meet her at her house. It was then that Lightning heard a slow, romantic melody coming from the direction of Scootaloo's room. He facehoofed. /Should've known/ he thought with a smile. He walked to her room and noticed something odd. Scootaloo wasn't playing her guitar. The music was coming from a set of speakers on her nightstand.

/That's not good./ As soon as Lightning finished that thought he was sent sprawling to the ground by the mare he had come looking for. The two shared a kiss before either of them spoke.

"Happy Hearts and Hooves Day, Lightning."

"Happy Hearts and Hooves Day, Scootaloo."

Scootaloo and Lightning smiled and kissed again. Scootaloo let herself relax and she buried herself in Lightning's embrace. Lightning stretched his wings and wrapped them around her back.

"I can't believe how much has happened in the last five months." Scootaloo began. "With Steel, Jade..." Scootaloo reflexively put a hoof to her right ear. Lightning cringed. He was still having difficulty getting used to that. "I'm just happy you were here to help me through it all."

Lightning smiled.

"I'm not going anywhere Scoot. No matter what happens. I promise."

The two young lovers shared another kiss.

"I love you Lightning."

"I love you too Scootaloo."

Scootaloo shook a little. That had become the known sign for Lightning to release her from his wing's grip. He unfolded his wings and she got up.

"I didn't have the money to buy you anything, so I made you something instead." Scootaloo said as she took Lightning's hoof and lead him to the kitchen. In the kitchen was one of the most delicious looking cakes Lightning had ever set eyes on. The left side was frosted deep blue and bore Scootaloo's Cutie Mark. The other side was orange and bore Lightning's. Lightning licked his lips. Scootaloo laughed.

"So, what do I get?" She asked and batted her eyelashes at him. Lightning smiled and set down his saddlebags. He reached in and brought out a small, felt lined box. Scootaloo gasped when he opened it. Inside was a necklace. The pendant was an engraving of a picture the two ponies had taken together. Scootaloo was speechless.

"How did you...wha...Ohmygosh, Lightning, this must have cost a fortune!"

Lightning laughed.

"You're worth every bit." Lightning had dropped out of school to start his racing career. The signing bonus he received gave him a good deal of bits to work with. Lightning removed the necklace from the box and place it over Scootaloo's head. The pendant fell right next to the locket Scootaloo was already wearing. Scootaloo looked down and frowned. She removed the locket from her neck and held it in front of her face.

"Something wrong Scoot?"

"This locket...I wanted to wear if everyday as a reminder of my mother."

Lightning sat on his haunches next to Scootaloo. She sat down and leaned into him.

"But I think it's time I stopped wearing it."

Lightning gave Scootaloo a worried glance.

"Are you sure? I thought you were going to wear that to the grave."

"I was going to. But what you just gave me...I need to focus on what I have now, not what's absent from my life. And what I have now is the best stallion I could ever hope to get my hooves on." Scootaloo gently set the necklace down on the counter. Lightning smiled and kissed Scootaloo.

"I'm flattered Scoot. Now what do you say we dig into this cake?"

Scootaloo smiled.

"May as well eat it while it's hot."

The kitchen was littered with pieces of cake. The process of eating it had turned into an all out war after Scootaloo shoved Lightning's face into his first slice. The young couple was rolling around on the floor in a fit of laughter.

"Maybe we should get cleaned up." Lightning suggested.

"Good idea." Scootaloo replied. A sly smile passed her lips. "And seeing as we're alone, we could share the shower and not get caught."

"Woah, Scoot. Let's keep it clean."

"Who said anything about sex? You're just so hot when you're wet."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Lightning said as he got up. He helped Scootaloo to her hooves and wrapped a wing around her back. The couple made their way to the bathroom.

"It's a good thing Twilight was home. Her and Mac are always so happy to babysit Steel." Scootaloo said.

"Yeah. I wonder how long it will be before they have a foal of their own." Lightning wondered aloud.

"At this rate, not long. Is...is that a note on the bathroom door?"

Lightning looked up. There was a note on the bathroom door. Judging by the sloppy writing, it had obviously been left by Rainbow. Lightning and Scootaloo both facehoofed as soon as they read the note.

/Dear Lovebirds Use Protection Love, Ma/


	9. Questions and Half Answers

Steel looked out at the lake. It was beautiful in the setting sun. As he relaxed in the cool sand, he felt a warm, soft presence lean against him. He immediately blushed, but still proceeded to rest his head on top of her own.

"It's so pretty, isn't it?" Autumn thought aloud.

"Yeah..." Steel said. Autumn could tell something was bothering him.

"Steel, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing."

"Steel, it's okay. You can tell me anything."

Steel turned to face Autumn. He was temporarily dumbstruck by the sight of her. He had to shake his head to get his thoughts back in order. Autumn giggled. Wow, did Steel love that giggle.

"What was that for?"

"You're too pretty...I mean, I, err, um..." Steel cursed himself mentally. Why did he get so stupid around pretty fillies? His dad would be ashamed of him right now. Autumn giggled again, and a small blush formed on her cheeks. Steel's mouth hung open. Why was his heart melting right now?

"Oh Steel. There's no need to be so nervous. I like you."

Steel blushed hotly.

"I...like you...too..."

Both Steel's and Autumn's blushes intensified. They each turned away from each other in a vain attempt to hide their faces, but they quickly realized their attempts were in vain.

"Steel, you never told me what was wrong."

Steel fought back the urge to lose his temper. He didn't want to hurt her feelings, but he also had no desire to share his.

"I don't really want to talk about it."

Autumn frowned, but quickly perked back up.

"That's okay. You can tell me whenever you're ready."

Steel smiled. Autumn was always so understanding.

"Thanks."

Autumn leaned into Steel and rested her head on his neck again.

"Anytime Steel."

Steel wrapped his wing around her back. He didn't know what else he could say, so he didn't say anything. He was content to just sit and watch the sunset with Autumn.

Scootaloo laid on the floor, her legs pointing in four different directions. All she could manage was panting. A massive smile was plastered on her face. Lightning was in a similar position on his back next to her.

"I should probably go clean myself off a little." Lightning managed. Scootaloo chuckled.

"Yeah, me too. It's a good thing I got my hooves on some birth control pills, otherwise there would probably be a foal on the way."

"Yeah...I don't think I'm ready to be a dad."

"You think I'm ready to be a mom?"

"Not in the slightest."

"Wow, you couldn't even lie and tell me I am?"

"Sorry Scoot, but you know that if you ask me something you're getting an honest answer. You're as ready to be a parent as I am."

"I find your lack of faith disturbing! If I didn't wholly agree with you, I'd be seriously offended!"

"But you do agree, so that means I'm not in trouble." Lightning struggled to his hooves as he finished his sentence.

Scootaloo sighed.

"Fair enough Lightning." Scootaloo got to her own hooves. "Come on, let's take a shower and go to bed. I need to rest up for tomorrow. It's going to be an emotional day."

"Tomorrow's the day Kat leaves for Canterlot, isn't it?"

"Yeah. We're sending Shepard and Big Mac along with her."

"Alright, I get why you're sending Shepard. Those two have been tight for years. Why are you sending Big Mac?"

"He wants to surprise Twilight at the school."

"Ahh. Makes sense. Well, I'll be sure to be there with you to see her off."

"Thanks. Now we've stalled long enough. Let's get cleaned up and get to bed."

"Sounds like a plan to me." Lightning followed Scootaloo to their bathroom. He was happy they had a shower that could fit two ponies at once. Scootaloo was SO hot when she was wet.

Steel landed on the front porch of the Dash home. The sun had finished setting, and he knew his adoptive family would be waiting for him. He smelled dinner before he even stepped inside. That was one benefit to living with Rainbow and Spitfire. No matter what time of day it was, mealtime was going to be wonderful. Steel pushed open the door to find Rainbow sitting at the kitchen table with her nose in a copy of the Manehatten Times, while Spitfire was finishing dinner in the kitchen. It appeared to be a normal family evening in most homes. Steel swallowed. That was a bad sign.

"You're home late Steel. Where were you? Rainbow asked without looking up from her paper. There was no hint of worry in her tone. Or anger for that matter.

"I met with a friend."

"Would this friend happen to be named Autumn Wind?" Spitfire asked while carrying a platter of stuffed potatoes to the dinner table. Steel blushed. They knew.

"Yeah..."

"Well, next time make sure you tell us beforehoof when you plan to spend an evening with your fillyfriend, alright?" Spitfire said calmly. Steel blushed madly.

"She's not my fillyfriend!" He half shouted that statement. Rainbow laughed.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of Steel. Frankly you should be proud. Your sister didn't have a single coltfriend until she started High School." Rainbow said with a grin. "You can have bragging rights."

"Even when she started dating colts she couldn't keep them around very long." Spitfire added with a devious grin.

"We made a habit of scaring them off." Rainbow said with a smile that was equally devious.

Steel was terrified. Autumn was a sensitive filly, and she wouldn't do a good job handling Rainbow and Spitfire if the stories Scootaloo told him were true. He had to think of something to convince them not to scare her away, and he had to do it fast.

"You can't scare away a filly! That's just mean!"

Spitfire and Rainbow erupted with maniacal laughter.

"Oh, you can be so foalish sometimes. The mother of every colt I ever dated tried to scare me off. It never worked, but they weren't as intimidating as Rainbow and I."

"Remember the morning Lightning woke up next to Scootaloo for the first time? How he was terrified because he thought we were going to make the soup?" Rainbow asked with a laugh.

"Ahh, yes. It's a good thing we had props, otherwise we never would have gotten him to even blink. I think Autumn will be a little easier to scare from what I know of her."

Steel was mortified. His adoptive parent's tones were far too sinister for his liking. He had to put a stop to their madness, and he had to do it fast.

"Please don't scare her! She wouldn't be able to handle it. You'd hurt her feelings, or worse."

Rainbow and Spitfire sighed in unison.

"You're no fun." Rainbow huffed.

"Fine, we won't scare her. But if you get home this late again without telling us about it beforehoof we'll have to ground you. Given that this was the first offense we'll let it slide." Spitfire added.

"Fine." Steel said with a huff. Rainbow's temper flared, but she quickly forced herself to relax. Spitfire was a lot calmer.

"Steel, there's no need to be rude. We were worried is all."

Steel immediately felt a small pang of guilt. It wasn't much, but it was enough. These mares were sacrificing a lot to take care of him, even he in his youthful ignorance could see that. There was no need for him to be so rude to them.

"Sorry." Steel mumbled. Spitfire smiled.

"It's alright. Just as long as I get to meet this fillyfriend of yours soon. Now eat before the potatoes get cold."

Steel shuddered at the thought of Rainbow and Spitfire meeting Autumn. He resolved he wasn't going to introduce them to her. No matter what it took. Especially when he saw that devious glint reappear in Rainbow's eyes.

Sweetie Belle woke in Jimmy's forelegs. They had managed to visit Kitty the day before. For Jimmy's sake they stayed for far longer than Sweetie would have liked, but she wanted her coltfriend to be happy. Granted, as soon as they got back to Jimmy's house they went straight to his bedroom. The two ponies had gotten right into the swing of things when they got together. As it turned out, neither one of them had had sex while sober in a little over a year, and they wanted to remember what it was like. Sweetie Belle was happy with it. Sex was a lot more enjoyable when she could remember it, and especially when she not only knew, but actually cared about the other pony involved. She turned her head to look at Jimmy. He was sound asleep, his mouth hanging open and a small dribble of drool rolled down his chin. His breath was one of the worst odors Sweetie had ever inhaled. She gagged, thus causing Jimmy to wake rather rudely.

"Sweetie? What was that about?"

"It was either the fact that you were drooling in your sleep or that your breath smells like a decomposing fish. I'll let you decide."

Jimmy took the opportunity to tighten his grip on Sweetie Belle and force a stream of rancid breath down her nose. She gagged again and kneed Jimmy in the stomach.

"I definitely deserved that. But it was worth it." Jimmy said after recovering. Sweetie had managed to wrench herself free from Jimmy's forelegs and was now gagging in the corner of the room.

"That wasn't punishment, it was self defense! Another second of that shit breath and I probably would have died."

"More than likely." Jimmy said. "I hope you can get used to it. That's what my breath smells like every morning."

"You mean it WASN'T a coincidence that it happened twice in a row? Why do I always end up in bed with stallions that have the weirdest quirks?"

"Probably because you scare off all of the ones with normal quirks."

"Normal is such a relative term."

"Weird is relative as well."

"Shut your mouth, Jimmy."

"You liked it open last night."

Because last night our tongues were enjoying a nice little dance."

"Nice? Yours was getting rather aggressive, Sweets."

Sweetie Belle and Jimmy continued to argue like this until they were both ready for the day. The two had a routine that they carried over the last two mornings. Step one, get back to Jimmy's house. Step two, have sex until it's difficult to move. Step three, wake up the next morning and have a playful argument until both parties were ready for the day. It was about halfway through step three that Jimmy made a request that would leave Sweetie Belle crushed for a long time.

"Hey Sweets? I enjoy sex as much as you do, but you think we could hold off on it from here on out?" Sweetie Belle dropped her toothbrush.

"Wh-wha? Why?!"

Jimmy noticed Sweetie Belle's displeasure at the idea. Still, this was something he wanted. He wasn't sure why he wanted it, he truly did enjoy sex as much, if not more than Sweetie Belle, but he knew his logic.

"Well, it seemed to work with Scoot and Lightning, and I was hoping to make this actually last. I'm sick of little celebrity flings that constantly get ruined by sexual tension, and I don't want that to happen with you."

It was right then that Sweetie Belle said something she would regret for a long time.

"Alright. I guess that sounds like a good idea."

Jimmy could have sworn he saw her eye twitch as she said that, but he ignored it. He kissed Sweetie Belle.

"I'm glad you're okay with it."

"O-of course. Why w-wouldn't I be?" Jimmy somehow was oblivious to the fact that she could not have shown more displeasure with the idea right there.

"Because sex is one of the most enjoyable things on the planet and nopony wants to live without it for a prolonged period of time, especially after getting to enjoy it for a while and then go for a prolonged period of time without it."

Sweetie Belle didn't believe in any supernatural deities, but she prayed right then to any one of them that would listen that Jimmy was simply messing with her. Or testing her to see if he could trust her. Anything other than being completely honest with her. Much to her future dismay, he wasn't.

Scootaloo landed in front of Steel's school. Kitty's sendoff had, oddly enough, gone smoothly, so instead of damage control she was able to go right to spending her day with Steel. She found Steel over by the school sign. He was, as Scootaloo expected, chatting with Autumn.

"Hey Steel. Hey Autumn. What's up?"

Steel fought back a snarky comment to reply with. Autumn was sensitive and wouldn't understand that Scootaloo could take it.

"Hey Rockstar. How's it going?"

"Not bad. Ready to spend a day catching up with your sister?"

"You ask me that as if I'm a foal."

Scootaloo frowned. Steel wasn't usually one for bitter replies like that.

"Everything alright Steel?"

Now Steel frowned. He wanted to know the truth about Jade, but he knew that was going to be a very bitter conversation. He didn't want to leave Autumn, but if there ever was a time to do so, it was now.

"Autumn, I need to talk to my sister in private. Is that alright?"

Autumn didn't like the idea, but she understood.

"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow Steel." Autumn nuzzled Steel and flew off into the sky towards her home. Scootaloo looked at Steel.

"Steel, what's going on? You're never so snippy."

Steel shot a cold stare directly into Scootaloo's eyes.

"Why did you kill my father?"

Scootaloo stepped back. She reflexively twitched her right ear.

"Steel, you already know that story. He broke in and attacked me. I did what I had to do."

"You held him in the air long enough to have a conversation with him, then you threw him into the ground!" Steel stamped his hoof as he screamed. "My dad was never as harsh to me as you told me he was to you. All I ever saw from him was a loving father!"

"Jade was far from a loving father!" Scootaloo didn't yell, but she was very assertive. "That bastard made my life Hell before Spitfire and Rainbow took me in. He is where he belongs!"

"If you hate him so much, why did you take me in?!" Steel yelled.

"You were a helpless foal when we took you in! You wouldn't have survived on your own when you were six! Besides, you're my brother! We're family, and we have to stick together!"

Steel laughed.

"Says the mare who murdered her own father." Steel turned around and flew away. Scootaloo didn't bother to chase him. There was a reason his cutie mark involved flying, and there was no way she'd be able to keep up with him.

Spitfire was sifting through paperwork on the counter when Rainbow got home from the market.

"Hey Spitty. Looking for something?"

"Yeah, Steel's birth certificate. I know we got it when we adopted him, and we're going to need it when we enroll him in the high school."

"Spitfire, he won't be in high school for another two years."

"Never hurts to be prepared ahead of time. Ahh, there it is." Spitfire picked up the birth certificate. It dawned on her that she had never actually looked at the document until then. She had never even removed it from the envelope it was in. She opened the envelope and looked over the document. As soon as she got to his name her jaw dropped.

"That...can't be right. There's no way..."

"What is it Spitfire?" Rainbow was met with no response so she walked over to her wife. Her jaw dropped just as far when she read the document.

"Rainbow...Why does this say this is the birth certificate for Steel Breeze?"


	10. Origins

13 years ago...

Jade Crestfall sat impatiently in the waiting room of Canterlot General Hospital. Aerial sat next to him. She wanted to be heartbroken by the course of events that led her to where she was, but she didn't care. After all, her husband was waiting to name the foal he had with another mare. A mare that happened to be fifteen years younger than herself. The unicorn doctor entered the lobby.

"Mr. Crestfall? You have a son now. Want to come and see him?"

Jade huffed and got to his hooves.

"About bucking time. What took her so long?"

"Sir, she was having a foal."

"Couldn't she have forced him out?"

"It doesn't work that way."

"Whatever. Take me to my son."

The doctor fought back the urge to punch the stallion in front of him. Not only was he being a complete dick, he took his wife with him for the naming of a foal he had with another mare. He hated stallions that weren't good to their spouses, but this one was bringing whole new meaning to the phrase "worthless bastard." Jade stepped in and saw his now ex-marefriend holding his newborn son in her hooves. A loving smile had adorned her face as she gazed at the foal. At just 23 years old she was in no way ready to be a parent, but she was willing to try. Her parents had gladly offered to help her raise the foal as well. Her smile fell away as soon as she saw Jade.

"What do you want?"

"To see my son and keep my end of the deal. He's yours to raise as long as I get to name him."

Summer Breeze huffed.

"Fine. Name him."

Jade looked the foal over. He took note of his dull gray coat. That was all he needed.

"Steel. His name will be Steel Crestfall."

"My ass. He's getting my last name Jade. But sadly, we had a deal. And because you could have chosen a worse name than Steel, that will be his name. Steel Breeze." She gave Steel another loving gaze. "Steel. My beautiful baby colt."

Jade immediately let his temper get the best of him. Who did this mare think she was? This foal was going to take his last name, and that was that.

"This foal is going to pass on MY family name, do you understand?!" Jade yelled. Steel began to cry. Before Summer could respond, Jade was dragged out the door by hospital security. The doctor had put the security outside the door as soon as Jade entered. The security team dragged Jade through the hallways (a difficult task considering the fight he was giving) and threw him out the door. A pair of royal guards were already waiting to take him in for a night in jail.

/Present Day/

Spitfire and Rainbow simply gawked at the birth certificate. They didn't know what to say. How had they not known that Aerial wasn't Steel's mother? They looked again at the names of the parents. Jade Crestfall and Summer Breeze. Who in the hay was Summer Breeze?

"Rainbow?"

"Yeah Spitfire?"

"I think we have a mare to meet."

"I think I have to agree."

Rainbow and Spitfire stepped outside of Ponyville town hall. They couldn't find any information on Summer Breeze other than that she was a resident of Canterlot. They decided that Spitfire should be the one to go to Canterlot to find Summer. Spitfire kissed Rainbow goodbye and asked her to talk to Scootaloo in her stead. Rainbow happily obliged. She sadly watched as Spitfire flew away in the direction of the high class city.

"I always hate watching her go..." She muttered to herself as she took off in the direction of her daughter's home.

Scootaloo landed on the front porch of her home. She let out a sad sigh as she pulled the door open. She had been unconsciously twitching her right ear ever since her argument with Steel. Guilt had quickly consumed her. Was Jade really where he belonged? Did he deserve to die?

/Of course not! You could have let him live! Jade was always right about you. You really are a worthless mare./

Scootaloo sighed. She hated that little voice inside her head. It always left her hurting more than Jade ever had.

"Sometimes I wonder if you're right about that." She replied. The voice laughed inside her.

/Of course I'm right! Steel should have confronted you years ago. Maybe then you'd be a halfway decent mare right about now./

Scootaloo buried her head in her hooves. She knew that she was the one making the voice; she recalled many sessions with her foalhood therapist about it. But sometimes it just felt like it was coming from somepony else. Somepony crueler than she was.

/Crueler than you? Newsflash Scootaloo: You're a murderer! It doesn't get any crueler than that!/

"SHUT UP! HE DESERVED TO DIE!"

/You keep telling yourself that Scootaloo. Tell me how it works out when we meet at Discord's gates./

Scootaloo broke down and wept. She didn't have the strength to do anything else.

/There you go, weep. Like the little foal you really are./

Scootaloo shook her head. She had to stay strong. The last thing she wanted was for Lightning to see her in that state again. She was a strong mare. She could handle a little voice. It was just her. She-

"You alright Scootaloo?" Scootaloo jumped to her hooves to see Lightning standing in the door.

"I thought you weren't going to be home for another hour." Scootaloo stated more than asked.

"Practice ended early today." Lightning walked over to Scootaloo and sat on his haunches next to her. "You heard her again, didn't you?"

Scootaloo nodded. That stallion could read her like a book.

"Yeah. Steel and I had an argument today. She took the time to remind me of how worthless of a mare I really am."

/You know it's the truth./

"Scootaloo, you know it's just you berating yourself. Your lips move when she speaks. You're the only pony who can stop it. You just have to accept that none of it is true. If you let her keep doing this to you, Jade wins."

"Lightning, I know she's wrong. Well, I do when I'm with you anyway. Sometimes it's just hard to accept. She's really convincing."

"Scootaloo, it's just guilt. Nothing more. Guilt that you shouldn't have to carry. He got what was coming to him. You did a good thing for the world."

"I killed somepony!" Scootaloo almost screamed. "Not just anypony, my own bucking father!"

"Scootaloo, you and I both know he was never a father to you. Just because you carry his blood doesn't make him your father."

"I...you're right." Scootaloo leaned against Lightning. "Thanks."

Lightning wrapped a wing around Scootaloo.

"Scootaloo, you're the most wonderful mare who's ever graced me with her presence. Don't ever tell yourself otherwise."

Scootaloo blushed and buried her face into Lightning's chest.

"How many times have I told you that I love you?"

"Would you like me to give you a number? Because if I think really hard, I could probably at least give you an estimate."

"How many times have I told you that you're an ass?" Scootaloo asked with a laugh.

"Now that number is way too high for me to count to." Lightning responded. He kissed Scootaloo's snout, drawing another blush out of her.

"I love you Lightning. You're my little ass."

"I really hope your little ass stays where it is. It's easier for me to sneak a look at in it's current location."

"Shut up and kiss me, asshole."

Lightning pressed his lips to Scootaloo's. It was the most gentle kiss the two had shared in about a week. And to both pony's delight, it didn't appear to be stopping anytime soon. To both pony's dismay, it did.

"I hate to break up such a beautiful moment, but I need to have a word with Scootaloo. If you don't mind." Rainbow said as she stood in the doorway. A large smirk was plastered onto her face.

"I thought I wasn't going to have to worry about that again after I moved out." Scootaloo grunted as she got up to hug her mother. "What's up, Ma?"

"There's been a new development with Steel. Turns out he's not your full brother after all."

Scootaloo cocked an eyebrow.

"Ma, he looks exactly like Jade. How can you tell me he's not my brother?"

"I said he's not your full brother. Take a look." Rainbow pulled Steel's birth certificate out of her saddlebags. Scootaloo's eyes grew wide as she read the document. She had initially thought that Rainbow was messing with her with the outrageous statement, but it appeared she had spoken the truth.

"Who's Summer Breeze?" Scootaloo asked.

"I don't know anything beyond the fact that she fooled around with Jade and they had a foal as a result. A foal that they named Steel."

Scootaloo was dumbstruck. This made no sense.

"I...this...Please tell me this is some elaborate joke you and Mom are pulling."

Rainbow sighed.

"Believe me, I wish it was. You've gone through enough crap as a result of weird family issues. You shouldn't have to deal with anymore of it."

"But this means that Steel's not-"

"He's still your brother. He's just your half brother is all."

"It also means...that Jade cheated on my mother."

"Are you really surprised about that?"

"No, I guess not. Still..." Scootaloo slumped down on her haunches. "Even after he died that bastard has a way of screwing everything up, huh?"

"That's what pricks like Jade do." Rainbow said as she sat next to her daughter. "Spitfire's on her way to Canterlot right now to go meet with Summer Breeze. We want to know what she knows about Steel. No mare in her right mind would willingly leave her foal in the hooves of a stallion like Jade, so I imagine she probably didn't give him up easily."

"Ma, no mare in her right mind would have sex with a stallion like Jade." Scootaloo responded with a grunt.

"Good point."

Spitfire landed in front of the home of the Ember family. It was more difficult finding Summer than she had expected, but she also hadn't taken into account the possibility that she had married. She took a deep breath and gave three quick knocks on the door. This was destined to be an interesting conversation. A mare with a white coat and golden mane answered the door.

"Umm...Can I help you?" She asked.

"I think you can. Are you Summer Breeze?"

"Not anymore."

"Right, sorry. I forgot you're married now. Congrats to that. Anyway, my wife and I adopted a foal seven years ago. We would have come to you sooner, but we just looked at his birth certificate today."

"I'm sorry, what does any of this have to do with me?" Summer asked, clearly confused.

"The foal's name is Steel Crestfall. Well, Steel Breeze according to his birth certificate."

Summer's eyes went wide. Her knees buckled, and she had to press a hoof against the wall next to her to stay standing.

"You...found him? You adopted Steel? Jade hasn't let me see him since the court case."

Spitfire wrinkled her nose in confusion.

"I'm sorry, what court case?"

"Oh my, you probably don't know, do you? Please, come in, I'll explain inside. I'm sorry, I don't believe I caught your name."

"It's Spitfire."

"Wait, the Wonderbolt?!"

"Not anymore."

/Three Weeks after Steel's Birth/

Jade sat in the courtroom with a smug grin on his face. Summer was bawling, and that only managed to bring him that much more pleasure from the occasion. Through a series of legal loopholes and less than legally acquired evidence against Summer's mental state, Summer Breeze was found incapable of caring for a foal. Steel was to have his last name changed and to be put into Jade and Aerial's care. Jade was to receive all legal documentation and it was his right to decide if Summer would receive any custody. Jade would see to it that Summer never saw Steel again.

/Present Day/

"That was the last time I ever saw Steel." Summer choked out. Her husband stood by her side and rested a wing on her shoulder. Spitfire kept a solemn face. She would have expected nothing better out of Jade.

"Jade always was a monster. It's a good thing he's dead." Spitfire said. Summer was shocked.

"Jade...is dead? What happened?"

"Did Jade ever tell you he had a daughter before Steel? With Aerial?"

"No, he never did. I always felt bad for Aerial as soon as I found out they were married. How is she doing?"

"She's dead as well. Jade...killed her. In our home." Spitfire fought back a surge of emotions as she remembered washing Aerial's blood off her coat. Summer pressed a hoof to her mouth.

"Oh...Was Jade caught?"

"No. Never. Well, as I was saying, Jade and Aerial had a daughter. Her name is Scootaloo. We found her and took her in after Jade kicked her out of his care."

"How old was she when that happened?"

"Eleven."

Again, Summer brought a hoof to her mouth.

"I could never dream of kicking our daughter out at such a young age." Summer's husband said. He was as shocked as Summer.

"I could never imagine hurting her the way Jade did. She was covered head to hooves in cuts and bruises when we found her. Apparently receiving a beating wasn't an uncommon theme for Scootaloo and Aerial. Back to Jade's death. A few months after he killed Aerial, he broke into our home for reasons none of us can figure out. Scootaloo had to go back home to get her saddlebags because she forgot them before she went to school, and she ended up fighting Jade while she was there. She killed him during that fight. To this day it tears her apart to know that she killed a pony, even a monster like Jade."

Summer and her husband simply sat with their mouths wide open. They couldn't comprehend anything that Spitfire had just told them. It all seemed so...surreal. They couldn't believe anypony would put their own family through that. Spitfire cocked an eyebrow. She had forgotten that her life wasn't normal for most ponies.

"Hello? Equestria to you two? You there?"

Summer and her husband shook their heads.

"Yeah...we're fine."

"Good, because I wanted to ask you a question."

"Go right ahead." Summer said. She instantly regretted her words.

"Why did you sleep with Jade?"

Summer's husband let his temper flare.

"That is NOT an appropriate-"

Summer rested a hoof on his shoulder.

"It's alright dear. I would be curious in her situation as well." Summer turned to Spitfire. "I was a bit...wild back then. I had gone out drinking with my friends. Jade looked fifteen years younger when I wasn't sober." She sighed. "When I found out I was pregnant with his foal, I kept him around. We dated until I found out he was married. That's when I broke off our relationship and came clean with my parents." Summer sighed again. A hopeful look entered her eyes. "May I...see him? It's been so long..."

Spitfire smiled. She couldn't imagine going thirteen years without seeing Scootaloo. She knew it would be a wonderful thing for Summer to see Steel again.

"I think that can be arranged."


	11. Steel Bars

Steel let his worries be carried away by the wind that flowed through his mane. At least he tried to. He couldn't shake the sorrow and confusion that still plagued him as a result of losing his family at such a young age. To be six years old and to have his entire life turned around over the course of a couple of hours.

/"Stay right here, Son. I'll be right back."/

His father's last words to him rung again in his ears.

"Well where in the hay are you now, Dad?!" Steel hoped that venting to the wind would help him relax. He quickly found out that it didn't. He felt a lead ball developing in the pit of his stomach. He shook his head and let out a powerful scream. Anger was better than sorrow. If he was angry, he could blame his problems on somepony else. If he was angry he didn't feel helpless. Yes, anger and hatred were much better than sorrow. He could focus hatred. Sorrow was everywhere, it hurt everywhere, but hatred could be focused on a single pony, a pony that wasn't him. Problem was that Steel just wanted answers. He was so confused that the only pony he could hate was himself. His father had always taught him that as a stallion, he needed to be in control of every situation life sent his way. Right now he didn't even have control over his own bucking emotions. How could he have any self respect when he couldn't even stay in control of himself? He found a cloud and began to ask the questions he wanted answers to, wishing that Celestia's bright sun could give him an answer.

"What happened to my father? Was he as bad as everypony says he was? Did he hurt my mother? Did he hurt my sister? Who were you, Dad?!" He screamed the last question before lowering his voice to a whisper. "Who am I?" Anger filled Steel as tears began to roll down his cheeks. He screamed again in rage. He needed to be angry, he needed to hate something. Anything but this depression. Why couldn't he be pissed? Why couldn't he hate Scootaloo for killing his father? Why couldn't he be angry at her for constantly giving him half answers about his parents deaths? Why couldn't he hate Lightning for always siding with her on the issue? Why did he still look up to him? Steel punched the cloud he was sitting on, but quickly found himself out of energy. He curled into a ball and sighed. He was just about to let the tears flow when he heard a familiar voice. A friendly one.

"Steel?" Autumn asked. Steel jumped up and looked down. Without realizing it he had flown just over her house.

"Hey Autumn."

"I heard you screaming. Is everything alright?"

Steel thought for a moment. He didn't want to tell Autumn his problems. To do so would mean breaking the image he had set for himself as a strong pony. As much as he would like to confide in Autumn and get her comfort, he would have to give the short story.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just had a fight with my sister. She can be as stubborn as a mule sometimes. Screaming at the wind helps me calm down a little."

Autumn frowned. She could see that Steel wasn't telling her everything. She decided it would be better to take him at his word. She smiled and sat next to him on the cloud.

"Want to talk about it?"

"No." Steel spoke harsher than he had intended to, and the look on Autumn's face broke his heart. He brought a hoof to her cheek. "I'm sorry Autumn. I didn't mean to be like that. It's just a touchy subject."

Autumn gave a weak smile. She could see that he was sincere in his apology, but she still didn't like that he had been so rough with her.

"It's okay. I won't ask about it anymore."

"Thanks."

A long silence fell over the two young ponies. Steel noticed that his wing had draped itself over Autumn at one point. He smiled and kissed the top of her head. Before he could react, she turned her head and pressed her lips to his. Steel's eyes shot wide open. The kiss was short lived, but Steel had never felt so much passion in his life. Autumn gave a nervous giggle.

"I'm sorry. I just wanted to know what it felt like." She hoped her actions wouldn't cause a problem between her and Steel. Steel smiled.

"It felt good."

Autumn giggled again.

"Yeah, it did."

Steel and Autumn shared a gentle nuzzle. The young couple giggled in unison.

"I should get going. Spitfire and Rainbow will be wondering where I am." Steel felt his heart break again as he saw Autumn's heart sink.

"Alright..." She said sadly. Steel rested his forehead against hers.

"Don't worry. I'll come by on the way to school tomorrow."

Autumn's expression brightened at the prospect of seeing Steel again soon.

"Okay. I'll be waiting for you."

Steel smiled. The two ponies sat in a slightly awkward silence for a moment. Steel leaned into Autumn and placed a tentative kiss on her lips. The two ponies giggled again. With no more words, Steel gave Autumn a quick nuzzle and flew back to his home.

Steel was on cloud nine when he landed back at the Dash family home. He allowed himself a little dance on the front porch before making his way inside. He was greeted by Tank, meaning the tortoise hadn't eaten yet. Steel fed the family pet and proceeded to his room. Until he was interrupted by Rainbow's familiar voice.

"I see 'first kiss face'." She said with a smug grin. "How was it?"

Steel blushed madly.

"I-I-I-um-"

Rainbow let out an uproarious laugh.

"Oh, you really are adorable when you're nervous, bud."

"I'm not nervous!" Steel knew he couldn't get nervous. Only weak ponies got nervous. His father had made sure he knew that.

"Oh really?" Rainbow said with a smug grin. "Then I'm sure you'll have no problem telling me how your first kiss was."

Steel swallowed. He cursed under his breath. He really was nervous!

"It-I-um..."

Rainbow laughed again.

"That's what I thought you'd say. Anyway, I've got Did's on the counter. And yes, I got your favorite for you. Kitty would be so jealous if she found out."

As if on cue, Steel's stomach let out a low rumble. He grinned sheepishly and shot to the sub sandwich on the counter. He finished it in short order and made his way to his room. The moment he closed the door the depression hit him again. He again felt the lead weight forming in the pit of his stomach, but this time he didn't have the energy to vent. He just flopped onto his bed and let the sorrow take hold. His head began to spin as he wracked his brain for answers.

"Why don't I know how I got here?"

Steel wasn't sure when he fell asleep, only that he woke around three in the morning. He dragged a hoof over his face and sighed. The weight in his gut was still there, coupled with immense pressure from his bladder. He dragged himself out of bed and made his way to the bathroom. The trip seemed to take longer than usual, but Steel was dragging his hooves along the floor. What very few ponies at school knew about him was that his upbeat attitude and warm smile that he was always seen with in public was a simple facade. He tried to keep it up at home, but at times like this he just didn't care. After using the restroom he slowly trudged back to his room. He again flopped down on his bed, but sleep wasn't going to come as easily this time. His mind raced with questions and his eyes welled with tears. He shook his head. He couldn't cry. Crying was for weak foals, not a grown pony like himself. But if that was the case, why couldn't he stop the tears from coming? He galloped to his mannequin and threw it to the center of his room. He proceeded to right it and buck it powerfully enough to lodge it into the wall of his room. He galloped to it again and continued to hit it over and over again with every bit of strength he could muster. He couldn't cry, he couldn't be depressed. He needed rage. He needed hatred.

Rainbow woke to the dull cracks of Steel's hooves hitting the mannequin in his room. She groaned and dragged a hoof down her face.

/That never wakes me up./ she thought as she rolled out of bed to check on Steel. She dragged her hooves the entire walk to his room. This was something that was normally under Spitfire's jurisdiction, and more than one time she had returned to bed in a saddened state. Rainbow was determined not to let that happen to her while Spitfire was gone. When she got to Steel's room, she found him making a vain attempt to remove his mannequin from the wall. Rainbow quickly made her way to him and pulled him away from the mannequin.

"Steel, what's wrong?"

"I WANT TO KNOW THE BUCKING TRUTH! I'M SO SICK OF BEING CONFUSED ALL THE TIME! WHAT HAPPENED TO MY PARENTS?! WHO AM I?!"

Rainbow was taken aback by Steel's burst of rage, especially when it turned from screaming to quietly sobbing.

"I just want to know the truth...I don't want to be confused anymore. Rainbow, what happened when you guys took me in? Who am I?"

Rainbow didn't know what to do. She had always been honest with Steel about Jade's death and his placement in her home. Why Steel was questioning it now was something she couldn't understand.

"Steel, we already told you what happened. Your father broke into our home and attacked your sister. He was killed in the fight they had."

"Why did he break in? You said Scootaloo walked in on him. My dad said he had some business left in Ponyville. He said he needed to talk to you guys, that's why went to your house."

"I don't know why he broke in. All I know is that when Spitfire and I got back to our house we found a mess and Scootaloo's ear. She flew back up to the house, we took her to the hospital and the Royal Guard found you by your father's body."

Steel stamped his hoof on the floor.

"That doesn't make sense! Dad was always good to me!"

"Your father was not a good stallion Steel."

"He never killed anypony! Scootaloo's worse than him!"

Rainbow was taken aback. Did he seriously not know that Jade killed Aerial?

"Steel, remember when your mother went missing?" Rainbow lowered her head. Aerial's death was a painful memory, despite how little she actually got to know the mare. She decided not to tell him about his birth mother at that moment.

"Yeah, after she started living with you guys!"

"Steel...Your father broke into our house with a knife. He killed her."

Steel's jaw dropped. Rage could be seen in his expression.

"NO! No, you're lying to me! Dad said she killed herself! He didn't do it, I know he didn't! She was weak and a coward, she did it herself!"

"She died in a hospital bed Steel. From four stab wounds to her stomach. One of the last things she said to Scootaloo was to ask her to look after you."

"NO! NO NO NO NO NO! GET OUT! STOP, THAT'S WRONG!" Steel couldn't believe what he was hearing. He refused to believe it. He turned back to the mannequin that was lodged in his wall and began to buck it in sync with his screams.

"NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!"

Rainbow slowly retreated out of his room. She felt it would be better to leave him to deal with this information on his own.

Again, Steel wasn't sure what time he had fallen asleep, although this time he woke up on the floor. A crust had formed around his eyes from the tears that had dried around them, and at first he had difficulty getting them open. Once he had gotten his eyes open he found the alarm clock that was screaming in his ears and shut it off. He slowly walked to the shower and let the hot water soothe his aching legs and back. The previous night's assault on the mannequin had left him in a lot of pain. He looked down and noticed blood washing into the drain. As he expected, when he looked at his hind hooves he saw cuts from where broken plastic had cut through his skin. He didn't care. It was just another wound to add to the growing list. He stepped out of the shower and shook himself dry. He gave his wings a couple of flaps to ensure that they would stay dry as well. He had a quick breakfast and dove off the porch. He couldn't wait to see Autumn. His troubles always disappeared when he was with her.

Steel landed hard in front of Autumn's house. A dull throb began in his right foreleg. Why he had landed with so much force on it was something he couldn't bring himself to understand, but it happened. And it hurt. He limped his way to the door of her home and knocked. Autumn quickly answered. It was as if she had been waiting for him. Autumn's father stepped up from behind her.

"You must be Steel." He smiled and lifted his hoof to Steel. "I'm Winter Wind, Autumn's father. We've heard a lot about you."

Steel suppressed a giggle. Best not to laugh at the name of your fillyfriend's father. It appeared that seasons ran in the family.

"It's nice to meet you Mr. Wind."

"Please, call me Winter."

"Umm, okay Winter."

"That's better. You two have fun now." Autumn gave Steel a gentle nuzzle.

"Hi Steel."

"Hey Autumn."

Autumn could see that something was wrong, but didn't press the issue. She had come to accept that Steel didn't like talking about his problems with anypony, no matter how much he needed to. She didn't like seeing him angry, so she just pushed it aside and kissed his cheek. Steel smiled. The two young pegasi took off towards school.

Steel was making his way to his last class of the day when he heard a familiar voice. One of his friends.

"Yo, Steel!"

"Hey there Halo, what's going on?"

"That's what I was gonna ask you. Ever since you got your little fillyfriend you haven't even said hi to the rest of us."

Steel knew that his friend was simply jealous. He had wanted to be with Autumn as much as Steel did, but Halo tried to play the "gangsta" role too hard for Autumn's liking. It was superficial and irritating, but Steel knew he really was a nice colt deep down. A shimmer caught Steel's eye, bringing a small smile out of Steel. He pretended that he didn't notice it.

"Sorry, I guess I just forgot a little. Don't worry, I'll hang with you guys soon."

"Right, sure you will. Make sure you don't forget about us before that."

"Look, I'm really not in the mood to deal with that now. If you're going to be like that, just go away."

"Why? You waiting to meet Autumn?"

Steel swallowed his anger and walked away from his jealous friend. Halo huffed and and walked the other way.

"He's a jerk when he wants something, isn't he?"

Steel turned his head and found his best friend standing next to him.

"Hey Eddie. How do you do that?"

"Do what?"

Steel turned his head again to find that Eddie had reappeared on the other side of him. A cocky grin had passed his features.

"Teleportation. No unicorn our age masters that."

"Meh, other unicorns our age aren't as smart as I am."

Steel rolled his eyes. He knew Eddie well enough to know that he was modest at heart. But he liked to act arrogant. He always found it funny when he pretended to think the world of himself.

"I know Eddie. They also don't study magic as much as you do."

"It's nothing really. Just took a lot of practice is all. It helps that magic is my special talent."

There was the kind and modest Eddie that Steel had grown to know and love. And true to his star on his flank, Eddie was very talented with magic. Oddly enough, it was just then that Steel noticed it wasn't all too dissimilar from Twilight Sparkle's.

"So what's his deal?" Eddie gestured in Halo's direction.

"He's just jealous that I'm the one dating Autumn. But I'm sure you already know that because you were listening in on the conversation."

"Just because I did it one time doesn't mean I do it every time."

"Eddie, I saw the shimmer in the air from where you used your cloaking spell."

"Dang, I thought I was getting better. You know, he does have a point. I'm happy you get to go out with Autumn, but you have been spending all your time with her since then."

"Eddie, we've only been going out for a couple of days."

"I know, but you could say hi to us more often. Anyway, I gotta go, class is about to start. See you around Steel!" With that, Eddie disappeared in a puff of blue magic. Steel facehoofed at his friend's ignorance.

"If either of them had a fillyfriend, they'd understand."

Steel landed back at home. Again he was on cloud nine from kissing Autumn goodbye. He pushed open the door to find Rainbow, Spitfire, Scootaloo, Lightning, and a mare that he had never seen before. He looked at the new jaw dropped when she spotted him. That confused Steel. Spitfire smiled warmly. Rainbow wore a more nervous smile. Spitfire was the first to speak up.

"Steel, I'd like you to meet Summer Ember. She's your birth mother."


	12. All According to Plan

Spitfire rolled over in bed. She groaned as she looked at the clock. It was 1:30 in the morning. She looked to the empty half of the bed. For whatever reason, she instinctively slept on her side of the bed back home.

"Dammit Rainbow...I'd already be asleep if you were next to me...or we'd be screwing, but not in another family's home. Even you wouldn't sink that low." /Wow, we're only apart for a day and I'm already back to talking to myself. That can't be good./

"You're not talking to yourself, you're talking to your absent wife."

"Now I'm talking to myself."

"Oh yeah, I guess you are. Well, if you don't want the conversation, try to get lost in thought. It always helped you sleep before you had Rainbow."

"Sounds like a good idea."

Spitfire sighed. Why did she miss her wife so much after only a day?

Rainbow flopped onto her bed. She was incredibly stressed from dealing with Steel. The dull cracks of his attacks on the mannequin permeated the quiet of the night.

"At least I don't have to deal with Spitty's snoring."

Rainbow looked over at Spitfire's half of the bed and sighed.

"I miss her snoring."

It was true. Her wife's gentle snoring had lulled Rainbow to sleep on many occasions where she couldn't fall asleep on her own. Not to mention the warmth of Spitfire's body.

"Dammit, when did I get all sappy?"

"Probably when you fell in love with her."

"Ugh, I remember when I promised myself I'd never settle down."

"You were a foal back then. It's been worthwhile hasn't it?"

"Yeah, it really has." Rainbow smiled as she thought of all the wonderful times she had with her family. Then it hit her. "Wait, when did I start talking to myself?"

"The moment you watched Spitfire leave for Canterlot."

"Oh yeah."

Spitfire woke around eight in the morning. She rolled out of bed and made her way to the small bathroom in the Ember family home. She thanked whatever powers she could that she managed to get four hours of sleep that night. Well, technically she got four hours of sleep that morning. She smelled something coming from downstairs. Was that...coffee? Oh, after she got done in the bathroom she was going to enjoy that. She stepped out of the restroom and groggily made her way downstairs. Her jaw dropped. Not only was a steaming pot of coffee prepared, but an entire breakfast was already laid out. Summer's husband stood behind the stove, frying up some carrots for breakfast.

"Morning Coal. What are you doing making breakfast?"

"I always get up to make sure my family has a hot breakfast ready when they get up."

"So, you get up early in the morning, make your family and your guest breakfast, and then you go to work for a day?" Spitfire asked.

"Yep! I'm the head chef of Crem de la Crem, so it's nice to get some practice in the mornings. And the smiles on my family's faces make it all worthwhile."

"Seriously?! That place is amazing!"

"Thanks." Coal gave the an ear to ear grin.

"I'm the cook back at our place. Rainbow can't cook to save her soul, and try as I might I can't teach her anything about the subject. Well, it's actually hard to keep her attention with any conversation that isn't about flying, her job, or sex."

"Sounds like most pegasus stallions I know."

"She's a stallion trapped in a mare's body."

"Ahh. I'd love to meet her. She sounds like quite the character."

Spitfire blushed and looked away.

"She really is." Her love for her wife was evident in her tone of voice.

"What's it like, being married to another mare? Not that I see any problem with it, I'm just curious about the challenges I'm sure you face."

"It can be difficult at times. Fortunately Ponyville is, for the most part, a haven away from bigots. Most of the ponies there are very accepting of everypony else's way of life. I really couldn't think of a better place to call home. It's when Rainbow and I travel to places like Manehatten or here in Canterlot that we encounter the most trouble with bigotry."

"How often do you travel?"

"Not terribly often. If Scoot has a show in Manehatten, Canterlot or Cloudsdale we're usually willing to go. Well, we only go to Cloudsdale when it's close to Ponyville. That can be a long flight, depending on where it's at in it's drift."

"Shows? What's your daughter do for a living?" Coal's curiosity was piqued.

"She's the lead guitarist for Iron Pony."

Coal raised an eyebrow.

"Never heard of them."

"Really? Huh. I guess I'm not used to being around ponies that aren't a fan or from Ponyville." Spitfire was genuinely surprised.

"You two seem to be getting along nicely." Summer smiled as she poked her head into the kitchen. "So let me get this straight. You're an ex-Wonderbolt, your wife is the only pony to ever pull off a Sonic Rainboom, and your daughter is the lead guitarist of a popular rock band. What is it with your family and being famous?"

"You know, it really just kinda happened. That's another thing I love about Ponyville. Despite everypony in the town being open and friendly, they know how to respect one's privacy, even if that pony is famous. Well, after they get used to said famous pony's presence in their town."

"What do you mean by 'getting used to their presence'?"

"I mean it was about a month before I could walk around Ponyville and avoid getting mobbed by strangers. That was back when I was Spitfire the Wonderbolt though. Now I'm Spitfire the friendly neighborhood weather pony. So now I just get a lot of crap when the townsponies don't like the weather. My wife is the weather captain, but nopony wants to complain directly to her face about it."

"I see. So, Ponyville isn't that far. Want to check out Canterlot while you're here?" Summer asked.

"No, I'd like to get back home to Rainbow. It's weird being away from her for any length of time."

"I see. You have trouble sleeping last night?"

"Yeah..." Spitfire failed to fight back a blush. She gave the floor a sheepish grin.

"Well then, I'll finish breakfast and get our daughter to school, and you two can head to Ponyville. I'll stay here and look after our little filly while you're gone, okay Summer?"

"Sounds like a plan, Coal." Summer kissed her husband. She turned to Spitfire. "Spitfire, I want to thank you for everything you've done for Steel. I'm happy he has a parent like you to look after him. And as much as I would like to have him back, I think he should stay with you. I just want him to know who I am."

Spitfire smiled. She knew that couldn't have been an easy decision to come to, but she also knew it was the right one. Steel had a life in Ponyville and Spitfire didn't want that to be taken away from him. But she also knew it would tear Summer apart to know where her son is and only be able to see him once.

"You're welcome to visit anytime you like, Summer."

Summer smiled.

"You say that as if there is any power that can keep me away."

Spitfire and Summer landed softly on the front porch of the Dash home. Before they could reach the door it flew open and Rainbow tackled Spitfire. The two mares laughed as they rolled around on the porch. In the end they drew each other in for a kiss.

"I missed you, Rainbow."

"And I missed you, Spitfire."

Summer watched with a warm smile. Granted, it seemed rather rude to her, but she understood completely.

"Rainbow, I'd like you to meet Summer Ember. She's Steel's mother."

Rainbow froze. She had just let herself get sappy in front of a stranger. One that was going to be spending at least a day in her home. That was NOT good. She flapped her wings and shot off of Spitfire. Spitfire rolled her eyes as Rainbow tried to collect herself. Rainbow had begun to grow out of her need to be cool all the time, but it was still a slow growth.

"Hey. Name's Rainbow Dash. What's up?"

Summer was taken aback. That was rather...immature behavior for a mare of Rainbow's age. She shook it off. If she had learned anything from her conversations with Spitfire, it's that nothing she was about to encounter was normal for most ponies.

"Hello. It's nice to finally meet you Rainbow Dash. I've heard a lot about you."

"You have? I mean, of course you have! I-"

"Rainbow, remember what we talked about."

"Psh, growing up is so boring. I can handle the responsibility crap. Let me have a little fun, will ya?"

Spitfire dragged her hoof down her face.

"Of all the mares..."

Scootaloo landed on the front porch of her parent's home. She had been singing one of Iron Pony's older songs the whole flight.

"Nothing hurts my world, just affects the ones around me..."

"When sin's deep in my blood, you'll be the one to fall!"

Scootaloo laughed as Rainbow picked up where she left off. She continued the chorus.

"I wish I could be the one..."

"The one who won't care at all..."

"Ahh, Unholy Confessions watch?v=e9gSoZ4wBoo. That's an old one. Your music has definitely changed for the better." Spitfire said with a smile.

"Yeah, Sweets never liked screaming anyway. But damn is she good at it. Have I showed you guys the new one we were working on before we sent Kat to Canterlot?"

"No, but I'm sure you'll show us when it's done."

"You'll be the first. You must be Summer Breeze." Scootaloo smiled at Summer.

"And you must be Scootaloo. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Indeed." Scootaloo frowned and turned to Spitfire. "You know Steel isn't going to take well to this. How should we break it to him?"

"If you can think of a way to do it in a way that won't get him to lose his shit and run off, I'm all ears." Rainbow said.

"I think we should just be straightforward. It's not like there is a good way to tell it to him easy. My suggestion is that we just say it and hope for the best." Scootaloo suggested. Spitfire raised an eyebrow.

"I don't like that idea..."

"Mom, if you have a better one I'm all ears."

Spitfire sighed. She didn't.

"Alright, we'll go with Scootaloo's suggestion. I don't like this, but I guess we really don't have any other options."

"We don't have to tell him now. We could wait for a while and let him get to know her before breaking it to him." Rainbow suggested with a shrug of her shoulders.

"So he can lose his shit and run off after he finds out we've been lying to him for even longer?" Scootaloo stated more than asked. "No, we should be straightforward. He deserves to know this."

"I hope you're right..." Summer said with a nervous glance at the door.

Lightning landed powerfully on the front porch of his in law's home in the sky. He pushed the door open and was met with an empty room.

"Son of a-OOF!" An orange blur slammed into him and tackled him to the floor. The rest of the ponies in the house entered the foyer laughing. Scootaloo had devised the plan as a way to ease the tension. Scootaloo and Lightning got to their feet. Scootaloo laughed as Lightning flexed his wing.

"Oh, don't be a baby. I didn't hit you that hard."

"Love you too Scoot."

"Umm...is this usual?" Summer was clearly confused by the competitive relationship Scootaloo and Lightning shared. Spitfire and Rainbow laughed.

"They've been like that ever since they met eleven years ago. Took him long enough to ask her to marry him." Spitfire explained.

"It took him long enough to ask me out." Scootaloo added. Lightning gave the floor a sheepish grin. Scootaloo leaned into him.

"It was worth the wait." She said with a smile.

"I'll bet it was." Summer smiled as she noted the two young ponies age. "You two are about the same age as Coal and I were when we got married."

"That so?" Spitfire asked.

"It looks like Spitty and I got hitched a little early." Rainbow said with a grin. Spitfire brought her hoof to her face. Everypony in the room laughed.

"So, now that we have that out of the way, I think it's time for a proper introduction. My name is Lightning Spark. I'm-"

"The racepony?!"

"Not anymore." Lightning fought back the urge to let his facial features betray his irritation at the question.

"My husband LOVES you! Why did you quit?!"

Lightning sighed.

"I didn't quit, I got fired." Lightning stopped and took a deep breath before continuing. "Basically, my boss was spending more money on me than I was bringing in. Turns out there's no place for racers that don't sell their souls for money." Lightning extended a hoof to Summer. "And now back to the introductions. My name is Lightning Spark. I'm Scootaloo's fiance. You must be Summer Breeze."

Summer extended her own hoof and shook.

"Ember, actually. It's nice to meet you, Lightning. My husband will be jealous."

"I hope not."

"You're famous! Seriously, what's with this family and being famous?"

"It just kinda happens."

Summer looked at the clock. It was 3:30. According to Spitfire, Steel would be home any minute. She had mixed feelings about meeting her son. She was excited beyond what words could describe, but she was also terrified. What if he didn't accept her? What if he knew about her and hated her? What if he refused to believe she really was related to him in any way? She heard the door open. And there he was. All grown up. Summer's jaw dropped. She was speechless. Even with his unkempt mane and tail he had grown from the foal she had held in her forelegs thirteen years prior into a handsome young pony. He even had his cutie mark already. She saw the burning wings on his flank and knew right away he had found his talent in flying. She knew that because her father's cutie mark was extraordinarily similar, almost as if it were passed down in the bloodline. It was then that he looked her in the eye. His brilliant blue eyes stood in sharp contrast to his dull gray coat and jet black mane. She then heard Spitfire's voice.

"Steel, I'd like you to meet Summer Ember. She's your birth mother."

Steel laughed.

"Nice one Spitfire. So, your name is Summer. Nice to meet you. I'm Steel."

Spitfire looked at Summer. Summer hadn't taken her eyes off Steel.

"Uhh, Summer? You're staring. It's kinda rude."

"Watch your mouth, Steel!" Rainbow did not like it when Steel was rude to guests.

"Sorry Rainbow. I guess I just don't find your pranks as funny as Scootaloo does."

"Steel, mom and ma aren't lying. That mare gave birth to you." Scootaloo said. She was really hoping this would go well. In the back of her mind she knew it wouldn't.

"No, the mare who gave birth to me was named Aerial. Aerial Crestfall. Not Summer Ember."

"Steel, Jade-"

Steel kicked the door closed with his hind hoof and stepped inside. He began weaving between the ponies in the room.

"Let me guess. Now you're going to tell me some horror story about how my father was some wretched stallion that only desired to make the world a horrible place for everypony in it." Steel's anger was clear in his voice. "And then I'm supposed to fall in line and believe you. Let me tell you the facts as I see them. My father moves my family to Ponyville when I was six so he could find a job to support us. You know, like any good father would do. One day, I'm waiting for him to pick me up and take me to our house because I can't fly yet, and Scootaloo comes out of nowhere and offers to fly me up." Steel paused next to Scootaloo and forcefully placed a hoof on her back. "Like a good father, he doesn't trust his son with a mare who seemed to make every effort she could to tear his family apart when she was eleven years old. Then, a few days later, my mom goes and lives with you guys." Steel moved Between Spitfire and Rainbow and gave a smile that dripped with hatred. "A few days after that, my mom is dead. My father tells me she killed herself, but according to my good friend Rainbow Dash, he killed her after breaking into the house with a purpose known only to him." Steel leaves their sides and makes his way back towards the middle of the room. "My dad moves me again because he can't bear to live in the town where his wife died, and we live happily for about three months. Then my dad takes me back here while he takes care of some leftover business in Ponyville, and I watch as that mare over there in the corner brutally murders him." He pointed an aggressive hoof at Scootaloo. "Does that sum it up nicely?"

"Steel, you need to know-"

"The truth? You're right Scootaloo, I really do need to know the truth. But seeing as it's your word against my fathers, I don't have many results to compare with, do I?"

"Steel, we have your birth certificate here. Just take a look. You'll see that we aren't lying." Rainbow held Steel's birth certificate out for him. Steel snatched it and looked.

"Who the buck is Steel Breeze? And...Summer Breeze...Jade...Dad..." Steel began to shake as he read the information on the page. It was fake, it HAD to be fake. There was no way it was true. It couldn't be.

"No. No, this is a lie. No, this isn't the truth, no, no no NO!" Steel threw the document onto the floor and galloped out the front door. Scootaloo tried to fly after him, but it was too late. Summer was crying, and Spitfire was trying to console her. Scootaloo felt a wing on her back.

"He'll come back Scootaloo. He'll come to terms with this." Lightning's voice sounded confident, but Scootaloo could tell that he was saying those words to himself as much as to her.

"Will he?"


	13. Falling Apart

Tears stung at Steel's eyes as he flew over Whitetail Wood. That couldn't be right, Summer couldn't have given birth to him. His mother's name was Aerial. Aerial Crestfall, not Summer Breeze. The mares that adopted him were lying to him. They wanted him to hate his past so he would be easier to control. He wasn't going to let that happen. He wasn't going back to them. Not that night, not ever again. He was going to leave Ponyville behind and start his own life. There had to be somepony that would be willing to help him out. Sadly, he knew that leaving Ponyville would mean leaving behind the few ponies he cared about. Eddie, Halo...Autumn. Steel stopped and hovered in midair. He turned in the direction of Autumn's house. He couldn't leave her without at least saying goodbye.

Steel landed in front of Autumn's house. He knocked on the door. Winter Wind answered with a smile.

"Steel! How nice to see you. Come on in, I'm sure Autumn will be happy to know you're here."

Steel nodded politely and thanked Winter. He stepped into the foyer.

"Autumn!" Winter called out. "You have a visitor!"

"Coming, Daddy!"

Steel relaxed as he saw Autumn happily trot into the foyer. Her smile only grew when she saw Steel.

"Hi Steel!"

"Hey Autumn."

Autumn could tell from Steel's voice that something was wrong. Today she was going to get some answers out of him.

Scootaloo leaned against Lightning. She hadn't cried. She had no desire. She was too lost in her thoughts to cry. Too lost in self hatred.

/Yeah, tell it to him straight. Nice bucking work retard./

/I know. I just hope he comes home soon./

/He'll be better off if he doesn't./

/Maybe he will.../

"Scootaloo, snap out of it."

Scootaloo jumped at hearing Lightning's voice. She shook her head. This was no time to to let her guilt get the better of her.

"Sorry. I just-"

"Don't be sorry, it's alright. I just don't want you listening to her too long. She tends to leave you in a bad mental state."

Scootaloo lowered her head. Before she could let her guilt take hold of her she shook her head again. Determination was in her eyes when she looked back at Lightning.

"Yeah. I need to focus. I'm going after him."

"I think now would be a good time to leave him to sort this out. Lightning frowned as Scootaloo cocked an eyebrow at him.

"You sure about that?"

"To be honest, no I'm not. But I can't think of a better plan, so that's what we'll go with."

Scootaloo sighed and lowered her head again.

"Dammit Lightning. Sometimes I really hate it when you're honest."

Lightning closed his eyes and lowered his voice to a whisper.

"So do I."

Steel and Autumn landed on the beach in front of the lake by the Everfree. He recalled a story Scootaloo once told him about encountering a giant squid in that lake while trying to get her cutie mark with Sweetie Belle and Applebloom.

"Steel, what's going on?" Autumn got straight to the point.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Steel, you can tell me anything. I-"

"I'm leaving Ponyville. I'm running away." Steel found those words a lot harder to say than he expected. What was harder for him to handle was the look on Autumn's face after he told her. He could have sworn he felt his heart get torn out of his chest.

"What? Why? Steel, what's-"

"I'll tell you before I leave. Right now I just want to say goodbye."

"But-"

"Please. I don't want my problems to mess up our last moment together." Steel began to wonder if that moment wasn't already ruined. He again felt his heart being ripped out as Autumn began to sob against his shoulder.

Scootaloo stood. She wasn't going to sit and wait while Steel did something that could get him hurt.

"Scoot, what are you doing?"

"I'm going to go find my brother. You coming with?"

"I don't think he's going to-"

"I DON'T CARE!" Scootaloo felt a pang of guilt for yelling at Lightning. She walked to the door. "I'm not just going to sit here while he's out there in his mental state. He's going to hurt himself, or worse somepony else. I have to fix things with him."

Lightning nodded and stood next to her.

"We'll find him faster if we're both looking. Let's not waste anymore time."

"I'm coming too." Rainbow stood next to them with her wings spread. "Spitfire will stay here with Summer."

Scootaloo smiled.

"Thanks Ma."

"Thank me when we find him. Come on, we're losing daylight. My son is going to have a hot dinner and a warm bed tonight if it's the last thing I do."

Scootaloo took note of her mother referring to Steel as "her son." Scootaloo had never noticed the extent of her parents love for Steel before that moment. He had always been "Steel" or "your brother." Never once had they referred to him as their son. Scootaloo dove off the front porch. She was going to find her brother. No matter what it took.

Steel felt his world falling apart piece by piece. Every tear Autumn released onto his shoulder was another part of his heart that was melting away. He didn't know how he could leave with her in this state. Though they had only been together romantically for the better part of a week, but they had been close for almost a year. Steel's only closer friend was Eddie. It was then that it really hit Steel that running away meant leaving his entire life behind. Every friend he had ever made was here in Ponyville. How could he leave that? He knew it would be difficult, he knew he had to leave.

"St-Steel? Do you h-have to go?" Autumn choked out. Steel found himself fighting back tears as he responded.

"Yeah, I do. I'll come back for you. I promise I'll come back. When we're older. We can start over when we're older."

"Can we?" Autumn's words struck a chord with Steel. He had only been saying those things to try and get her to stop crying. And to prevent himself from crying. He hadn't actually thought about what he was saying. Could they start over sometime in the future? Would he even come back? He choked back tears and said the first thing he could force out.

"Of course we can."

"But what if we can't?"

Steel opened his mouth to speak, but no words came. He didn't have an answer to that.

Scootaloo had checked everywhere in Ponyville for her brother. She had rallied every member of Iron Pony that was currently in Ponyville, every one of her friends that was not a band member and every one of her parent's friends and their spouses to join in the search. And so far after two hours they had still come up empty. Scootaloo decided to head to the lake she had grown to love so much. She always went to the lake when she needed to clear her head, and right now was a time where she needed a good head clearing. She flew low over the treeline of the Everfree Forest, dodging rogue treetops wherever they poked themselves out above the rest of the treeline. Immediately upon clearing the forest she found the pony she was looking for just on the other side of the lake. She saw that Lightning had a similar idea and was watching from the beach. She flew down and landed next to him. Her eyes became wide as saucers as the scene unfolded before her.

Autumn finally gathered herself enough to begin her interrogation of Steel. She was not going to let him leave without giving her the answers she was looking for.

"Steel, you need to talk to me. Don't think about leaving before you do."

Steel was taken aback. Did she seriously just order him to share his troubles with her? Only weak ponies bring their problems to others.

"I don't /need/ to tell you anything. YOU on the other hand need to learn to keep to your damn self." Steel felt guilty for the obvious hurt he had brought to Autumn with his words, but he knew he was only saying what she needed to hear. He then saw anger spread across her face.

"How DARE you talk to me like that! I just want to help you! All you've ever done is hide your problems from me! I just want to help!"

"You can help by shutting your bucking mouth!" Steel shouted back. "All you've ever done is nag at me to get me to open up about things I don't want to open up about! Don't you know that sometimes ponies like to keep their secrets a secret?!"

Autumn found herself fighting back tears. Breaking down and crying wouldn't help her now.

"Steel, I've ALWAYS told you about my problems! Every deep, dark secret I've ever had I've told you! Now, when I ask you to open up to me about your troubles so I can help you through them, you treat me like a jerk that just wants to know about you so I can tell the whole world! You were so nice the whole time I've known you! What changed?!"

Steel let out a bitter laugh and turned his back to Autumn.

"I'll tell you what's changed Autumn. I got sick of lying to everypony. It's such a good feeling, sharing whatever I feel whenever I feel it. It makes me feel free. Autumn, what changed is me. I stopped lying to the world. I've always been pissed off. The only difference is that now I let everypony know that I am."

Autumn stared in horror at the spectacle before her. Steel had lost it. Gone was the kind colt she had befriended almost a year ago. Gone was the colt she knew she could always depend on when she needed somepony to lean on. Gone was the colt that she had shared her first kiss with. That colt had been replaced by the monster she was fighting with. Steel turned around. He had a look in his eye that Autumn couldn't place. It seemed...crazed.

"Come with me Autumn. You and I never have to be apart. Come with me, and we can start our new lives together."

Autumn took a step back. She wanted nothing to do with the colt standing in front of her. In a matter of hours he had gone from the Steel she knew and loved to something that she was horrified to look at.

"No."

"What?"

"I'm not coming with you. And you're not leaving. Steel, you need help." Autumn desperately held onto the hope that there was something left of the old Steel still inside of whatever she was looking at. She noticed Steel's face twist into one of rage.

"Help? HELP?! YOU THINK I NEED HELP?! I'M FINALLY FREE! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO NEEDS HELP! YOU'RE THE ONE STUCK LIVING BY THE LAWS OF THE PONIES AROUND US! HOW DARE YOU TELL ME THAT I'M THE ONE WHO NEEDS HELP!"

Autumn took another step back. Steel began to move towards her. Fear overtook Autumn. She tried to force herself to relax, but she couldn't. She couldn't hold her tears back.

"Who are you?"

Steel was confused by her question.

"I'm Steel you moron. Who else would I be?"

"You're not Steel. Steel doesn't act like you. Steel's not a monster."

Steel wasn't sure why being described as a monster drove his next action. All he knew was the pain of his heart shattering when he felt his hoof impact over Autumn's left eye. He looked in horror at the scene before him. Autumn lay in the sand with tears pouring down her face. He heard wingbeats behind him and felt himself being forced to the ground. He saw an orange pegasus with a purple mane land next to Autumn and wrap her in her forelegs.

/What have I done?/ No other thoughts formed inside his head for the rest of the night.


	14. Sinking In

Steel lay in his bed and looked at the ceiling. He didn't cry. He hadn't cried since he hit Autumn the day before. He hadn't done anything since then. He hadn't eaten, he hadn't slept. He hadn't been awake. The last eighteen hours had passed by him in a blur. All he felt was...nothing. He didn't even feel empty. He didn't feel the dull ache of hunger in his stomach, he didn't feel his parched lips. He didn't feel the weight of his eyelids, begging to him to allow them to rest. He didn't hear the gentle knocks at his door created by a concerned sister. He didn't notice her open the door and move to sit next to his bed.

"Steel?"

Steel was surprised by her voice, but he didn't react.

"Steel, you have to get up. You've been laying in bed for the last eighteen hours. Here, drink something." Scootaloo lifted a cup of water to him. Steel turned his head, noticed how thirsty he was, and rolled back over.

"Steel, you have to drink. I'm not leaving if you don't."

Steel attempted to respond, but his dry throat wouldn't let him. He rolled over and took the water from Scootaloo. It didn't take long for him to chug it down. The dry muscles in his throat screamed in response, and he spewed about half the glass onto the floor. He then rolled back over and gave a muffled response to Scootaloo's presence.

"Go away." His voice was incredibly raspy. He would need more water to get his voice back to normal.

Scootaloo took another step towards Steel's bedside. She placed a hoof on his shoulder.

"Steel, wallowing isn't going to fix your mistake. Neither will starving and dehydrating yourself. You need to get out of bed. You need to eat something."

"No, I don't. There's no place for me here."

Scootaloo rolled her eyes.

"Steel, you made a mistake. Yeah, it was a big mistake, but we still love you. There will always-"

"What if I hurt somepony else? What if I become what I was back there on the beach?"

Scootaloo gave a soft smile and gave him a gentle nuzzle.

"The fact that you're so worried about it now tells me you'll never hit another pony again."

Steel rolled to face Scootaloo.

"Are you sure?"

Scootaloo offered a warm smile.

"I'm sure. Now get out of bed and get yourself something to eat and drink."

"I...okay." Steel slowly got out of bed. He winced as he stretched his cramped legs and wings. Scootaloo walked just behind him all the way to the kitchen.

"Where's Spitfire and Rainbow Dash?"

"Work. I told them I'd watch you while they're gone."

"Oh."

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow at Steel.

"What's on your mind Steel?"

Steel stopped walking and faced Scootaloo.

"I want to know more about my dad."

Scootaloo sighed.

"Steel, we've told you everything there is to know."

"I just...I want to see something written. On paper. I don't care how bad it is anymore, I just want to know."

Scootaloo gave Steel a questioning look.

"Are you sure?"

Steel lowered his head.

"Yeah. I can't run from it anymore. I might as well just know everything."

"If you're absolutely sure after some food we can go to the guard station later today. But I don't want to bombard you with any more than you need right now."

"Alright." Steel made his way to the kitchen table and noticed there was already food ready for him.

"Scootaloo, did you make me dinner?"

"I'd never leave you hanging." Scootaloo said with a smile.

"Why?"

"We're family. We need to look out for each other."

Steel was astonished that his sister still cared enough about him enough to do that for him, Especially after the way he had treated her and his adoptive parents the last few days. His father would have punished him quite severely if he had been so short with him.

"But...I've been so horrible to you guys lately...to everypony...to Autumn..." Steel fought back tears as he vividly remembered his hoof finding purchase over her eye. It was strange...he couldn't even think of the action as something he did. It was as if somepony else had hit her with his hoof and he simply watched the event. He couldn't hold it in any longer. He fell to the floor and began to sob.

"Autumn...I'm so sorry...what did I do?"

Scootaloo knelt next to Steel. Her heart broke when she saw him. He wore that same defeated look he had seven years ago when Scootaloo had first wrapped her wing around him. She felt it would fit the moment to repeat that gesture.

"Steel, only you can decide how you let that affect you. You can let it weigh you down and leave you in this depressed state, or you can go talk to her and tell her everything you want her to hear from you."

Steel looked up at Scootaloo. His ears were still flopped down on the side of his head. He opened his mouth to speak and looked away again.

"You make it sound so easy."

Scootaloo pulled him closer to her with her wing.

"It's not going to be easy Steel. But that's the only way you'll get through this."

"What if I don't want to get through it?"

Scootaloo gave her brother a concerned look.

"What do you mean?"

Steel managed to lower his head even more.

"I hurt her. She did nothing wrong and I hit her in the face. I don't deserve to get through this."

Scootaloo pulled Steel even closer and rested her chin on his head as he started to cry again.

"Steel, you're a good pony. You made a mistake, but you're no worse than anypony else on the planet. I know that, and so does Autumn."

"I hurt my own fillyfriend. How can I possibly be a good pony?"

"Steel, we bombarded you with information that changed almost everything you know about your own life over the course of a few days. That wasn't a good move on our part as your family, and for what it's worth I can't tell you how sorry I am. It's enough to cause anypony problems like you had. Honestly, I'm surprised you managed to keep it together as long as you did. We should have been better about spacing that out."

"You guys only told me two new things. Everything else is the same old story you've been telling me as long as I've lived with you guys."

Scootaloo gave Steel a gentle nuzzle.

"I think somepony needs to hear my story."

Steel raised an eyebrow.

"What story?"

Scootaloo stood and walked to the table.

"The one I'll tell you over lunch."

"You still feel bad about what you did to Dad?"

"Yeah. I get this voice inside my head all the time. She makes sure I know how awful I am for what I did..." Scootaloo took a breath before continuing. She hated talking about her past, but right now her brother needed it. "Usually, I let her get to me. Inside, I know she's just me making myself feel bad, but I tend to forget that. Until the ponies that care about me help me see that even though I could have done things differently, I'm not as horrible as I make myself feel."

Steel looked away.

"But if everything you're telling me is true, then Dad deserved what he got. Autumn didn't deserve what I did to her." Steel sighed. "I deserve what Dad got."

"Steel, don't ever say that." Scootaloo wasn't harsh with her words, but she was definitely firm. "Nopony deserves to be killed for anything, no matter what they did. Not even Jade. I made a mistake doing what I did to him. You made a mistake hitting Autumn. Don't make a bigger mistake by letting it get to your head."

"But I-"

"No buts Steel." Scootaloo softened her expression. "Tell you what. Today we're going to have a little brother-sister bonding time. Just you and me. What do you say?"

Steel looked up.

"Can we talk more about Dad?"

"We can do that if we have time. But first there's a place I want to show you."

Scootaloo pulled ahead of Steel. Steel sped up to keep pace with her. Scootaloo grinned and pulled ahead of Steel again. Steel quickly figured out what was going on. He matched speed with his sister again. If there was one thing he loved, it was a good race.

"Oh, you want to try this with me, do you?" Steel yelled against the wind.

"Only if you're not scared to try me!" Scootaloo called back and sped up again.

"I'll leave you in my wake!" Steel folded his wings against his sides and angled down for a dive. Always a good way to increase his speed. Scootaloo followed suit. She knew she wasn't going to win the race, but if she was going to take his mind off the events of the last few days she had to at least give him a run for his bits. She began to worry when she noticed Steel dove below the recommended safe distance from the ground that all pegasus ponies were taught to abide by at the speeds they were currently flying. Steel laughed as he spread his wings and leveled himself out so he was flying on a line that was parallel to the ground; the ground that was less than six feet below him. If he made even the smallest mistake at that elevation at the speed he was flying, he could find himself grounded for months at best.

"Steel, you really should pull up!" Scootaloo called out. Steel laughed.

"Why? So you can keep up with me?"

"So you don't hurt yourself!"

"Oh quit worrying. I'll be fine." Steel gracefully sped just above ground level. A pony came into view in front of him and he narrowly avoided impact by pulling up at the last moment. Steel laughed as he matched speed with Scootaloo again.

"Don't you EVER try that again! It's too dangerous!" Scootaloo yelled above the rushing wind.

"You say that as if I don't know what I'm doing." Steel called back with a laugh. "Now where's that place you want to show me?"

"Follow me. And stay a safe distance above ground this time."

"It's just a big empty clearing." Steel said. He was incredibly confused.

"That's what it is right now. What matters is what it was fifteen years ago."

"What was it fifteen years ago?"

Scootaloo looked up at the sky.

"This is where our father put our house when we first moved to Ponyville. This is where my life started."

Steel looked in the sky with a faraway look on his face.

"Dad said you ran away the day they left here. Is that true?"

Scootaloo sighed.

"That's not entirely inaccurate I guess." She started. "I would have run away if he hadn't kicked me out first."

"Why did he kick you out?"

"I refused to move with him again. I found a home here in Ponyville. I wasn't going to let him take it away."

"Ahh..." Steel looked at the ground.

"Are you starting to believe us now?" Scootaloo asked as she lowered her head to look at Steel.

"I don't know what to believe anymore...I guess I don't really care."

Steel turned and began to walk away. He felt a hoof on his shoulder.

"Steel, of course you care. You need to know who you are. Right now I know you're confused, and-"

"Scootaloo, as much as I appreciate you trying to help me, I know what I am. I'm nothing but a monster."

Before Scootaloo could react, Steel flew off into the afternoon sky.

Steel landed on the porch of his home. He sighed as he pushed the door open and headed inside. He trudged through the kitchen and made his way to his room. He didn't bother to close his door like he usually did. Instead, he opted to simply flop down on his bed. Again, numbness washed over him. He didn't feel, he didn't think. Instead he opted to close his eyes and allow his tired body to be carried off into the world of dreams. Dreams where he wasn't a monster. Where he could live his life to the fullest and be as happy as everypony around him. Before he allowed sleep to take him over, he made sure to say four short words to himself.

"I hate you, Steel."


	15. Broken

Steel stared at what was left of his old mannequin. He didn't have the energy or desire to hit it. He just stared at it. It was as if the answers he sought somehow resided within the empty plastic shell. He heaved a sigh as his stomach let out a low rumble. He pushed his door open and slowly made his way to the kitchen. He made himself a quick snack and sat at the counter. His mind was empty as he slowly munched on his meal. It seemed he was doing everything slowly and deliberately ever since the incident with Autumn. After finishing his meal, Steel put his plate in the sink. He'd deal with it in the morning.

Spitfire woke to the sound of dishes and silverware clinking in the kitchen. She got up to go check on Steel, but felt a hoof on her shoulder.

"Let him eat, he's not doing anything wrong." Rainbow said with a grunt.

"I know, I just worry about him. He's been going through such a rough time the last few days. I just want to make sure he's alright." Spitfire replied.

"He'll be fine, Spitfire. Now come on back to bed. It's getting cold already."

"Rainbow..."

"Spitfire, he's not a foal anymore. He's a growing young pony. He just needs to eat more than he used to. Give him a little space, he'll be fine."

Spitfire hesitated. She knew when something was wrong, and right now something definitely felt wrong. She went against her better judgement and climbed back into bed with Rainbow.

"There we go, that's a good Spitty."

"Shut up and go to sleep, Rainbow."

"You don't have to tell me twice." Rainbow's voice began to fade as she drifted off to sleep. Sleep would not take Spitfire so easily. She managed to find a comfortable position in her wife's embrace, but her worry was too much for her to take. She wasn't a believer in any of the many religions that had consumed the lives of many Equestrian ponies, but at that moment she prayed to whatever god or goddess that would listen that everything would be alright.

After eating, Steel made his way to the bathroom. When he was washing his hooves, something caught his eye. He took a long look at the razor that sat next to his toothbrush. He had begun getting added facial hair earlier than most of his classmates, and thus needed to start shaving it off earlier. He looked in the mirror and noticed that he didn't have to shave at the moment, but for some reason he still felt drawn to the razor on the counter. He picked it up in his teeth and carried it with him to his room. He threw it down on the floor and began to take it apart. He still wasn't sure what caused his sudden fascination with the damn thing, but he continued all the same. It turned out to be a much more difficult task than he had initially expected, but after roughly ten minutes Steel had managed to take the whole thing apart. He gazed at the three blades that were laying on the floor of his room. Steel still didn't understand his fascination, but for some reason he felt the need to pick one of the blades up in his mouth. After doing so, he found himself equally fascinated with his right foreleg. When he finally figured out what had been going on on his head, he dropped the blade and shot to his bed. He wasn't going to do that...he couldn't. That was what emo ponies did to get attention, not a solution to his problems. Then again...

Spitfire finally still couldn't shake the feeling she had that something was wrong she shifted to get up again, eliciting a groan from Rainbow.

"Can't you just stay in bed?"

"Rainbow, something isn't right. I know when something is off, and right now something is off."

"Sheesh, you're such a worrier. He's fine, he's just a growing colt."

"You say that as if that's supposed to comfort me."

"It should."

"He's been through so much in the last few days, and most of it's our fault. He's obviously not handling it well, and-"

"Spitfire, you need to relax. He just feels guilty over what happened with Autumn. He probably just wanted some comfort food."

"I just get the feeling that there's more to it than that."

"Spitfire-" Rainbow was cut off by the sound of laughter from below her. Their was no hint of joy or even humor from the laughter. It sounded...dark. Rainbow and Spitfire exchanged worried glances as the laughter grew more and more intense.

"So, maybe you should go check on him."

"Uh-uh, now it's a WE."

"Dammit."

Rainbow dragged herself out of bed. She and Spitfire then proceeded to make their way to Steel's room. Spitfire opened the door. She was about to ask Steel what was going on, but the horrific scene before her took away her words before she could say them.

Steel got out of his bed and walked back over to the pieces of razor that lay on the floor of his room. He picked up one of the blades and looked back down at his foreleg. He nodded to himself, deciding that the punishment was fitting of what he had done. Without another thought, he dug the razor blade into his leg and ripped it through several layers of skin. Pain shot through his leg, causing him to wince. But after the pain came something he didn't expect. A warm feeling flooded his body. It was barely noticeable at first, but it quickly grew stronger and stronger with every slice into his skin. Blood poured from the new wounds on Steel's foreleg. He sat back on his haunches. A smile spread across his face. Not a joyful smile, but a sadistic one. He fell onto his back and laughed. He found himself laughing uncontrollably. Before long he was into hysterics. It wasn't until he heard a loud gasp that he realized he had been caught.

Rainbow and Spitfire stared in horror at the sight before them. Blood was pouring down Steel's right foreleg, and they could only guess that the wounds came from the bloodied razor blade that lay on the floor next to him. Rainbow was the first to snap out of it and take action. She shot to Steel's side and kicked the razor blade away from him.

"Steel, what are you doing?!" She half yelled her question, but worry was evident in her voice.

"Giving myself the punishment I deserve." Steel said with a grunt.

"Why in Equestria would you do that?!" Spitfire wasn't sure how she managed speech at the moment.

"Because nopony else will do it." Steel was very matter-of-fact.

"Spitfire, go get something to clean his cuts with." Rainbow said. Spitfire simply nodded and galloped to the bathroom to grab some first aid supplies.

"Steel, this isn't going to make what happened go away." Rainbow said. "I know you feel guilty about what you did to Autumn, but digging a razor into your skin is only going to make things worse."

"Oh yeah?" Steel asked with a smirk. "Says who?"

Rainbow sighed.

"Says the mare who loves you more than you'll ever know. Now let's see those cuts." Rainbow took Steel's bleeding leg and and examined the cuts. She moved his fur out of the way and quickly realized they were far too deep to take care of with in home first aid supplies. Ironically, it was just then that Spitfire burst through the door with the first aid kit in her mouth.

"Steel, what possessed you to do this?" Rainbow asked. Worry was evident in her voice.

Steel shrugged.

"I wanted to." He spoke as if he hadn't done anything out of the ordinary.

"Spitfire, help me get his leg wrapped. We're going to have to take him to the hospital." Spitfire's jaw dropped (and with it the first aid kit) when Rainbow said that. Steel groaned.

"It's just a little bit of blood. I'll be-"

"Steel, you won't be fine! I've never seen anypony with cuts this deep!" Rainbow tried not to yell, but she failed...miserably. Steel flinched, but she ignored it. "Come on Spitfire, we need to do what we can to stop his bleeding. And we need to do it now."

Spitfire nodded and opened the first aid kit. She pulled out a roll of gauze and quickly began to wrap Steel's leg. He groaned in annoyance.

"Spitfire, Rainbow, I'll be fine. I'm just...a little dizzy...that's all..." Steel's voice began to fade as he began to slip into unconsciousness. The rest of the night passed him in a blur.

Scootaloo grunted as she woke to a knock at her door.

"Not this shit again..." She rolled out of bed and fell into a heap on the floor. Lightning groaned.

"Come back to bed. Whatever it is, it can wait."

"That's what you said last time." Scootaloo responded as she picked herself up off the floor and made her way to the door.

"What are the odds that it's going to happen twice?" Lightning asked.

"With my history, they're higher than I would care to calculate."

"Uggh. Fine. Just come back to bed when you're done."

"If it's not important, I will." Her response wasn't heard. Lightning had already fallen back to sleep. Scootaloo stumbled down the stairs and stood in front of the door. She heard voices outside-voices that she immediately recognized as her parents'.

"It's five in the morning. We couldn't possibly have let them have a full night's rest before we break this to them?"

/That would be Ma./ Scootaloo thought to herself.

"She deserves to know what's going on, and we shouldn't have to make her wait. You heard what the doctor said."

/And there's Mom./ Scootaloo lifted a hoof to push open the door, but decided to wait a little longer. She felt the unusual desire to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"All I'm saying is that it would be nice for Scootaloo if we let her get some sleep before she finds out about her brother being in the hospital."

Scootaloo pressed a hoof to her mouth. Before Spitfire could respond to Rainbow, she had opened the door and was standing in front of her parents.

"Judging by the look on your face, I'm going to say you heard part of that conversation." Rainbow said. Scootaloo simply nodded in response.

"What happened?" Scootaloo asked. The looks on her parents' faces made her heart sink.

"I think it would be best if we just showed you." Spitfire said.

Scootaloo nodded, and was just about to step outside when she felt Lightning bump into her.

"Have I ever told you how loud you mares are when you talk?" He asked. The three mares standing outside gave him a look that could only be interpreted with the words "When this is over, our family will be down one disrespectful runt." Lightning sighed. "It sounds rather urgent. Let's get going."

"He's going to be fine. He lost more blood than a pony should, but he didn't hit a vein. At this rate I'll be releasing him into the care of a mental hospital by tomorrow afternoon." Nurse Redheart made every effort to calm her patient's worried sister.

"Woah, woah woah woah woah, mental hospital?" Rainbow asked with a raised eyebrow.

"That's correct. He obviously needs some help-"

"That we can give him ourselves. As his family." Scootaloo interrupted.

"Look, I know you don't want to send him away, but this is for the best. It will only be for a few months, and-"

"Do you need our consent to send him away?" Spitfire asked.

"Well, technically you would be the ones sending him away as his legal guardians, so-"

"He's not going anywhere." Rainbow finished.

"You ponies always were a stubborn bunch of mules." Nurse Redheart huffed moved to leave the room. Before exiting, she turned back to the family that sat inside. "When he wakes up, let me know. He should be fine, but I'd like to run some tests to make sure."

"You'll be the first." Lightning answered. He put a wing around Scootaloo. "See Scoot? He's going to be fine. He just needs some rest."

"The last thing he said to me yesterday was that he was a monster." Scootaloo's voice began to break as tears began to fall from her eyes. She never broke her gaze from Steel. "I should have seen this coming. I should have stopped him."

/Yeah, you should have. Some sister you are./

"Scootaloo, you can't blame yourself. There's no way you could have seen this coming." Lightning pulled her in closer as he said that.

"I shouldn't blame myself...But I can't help but to do exactly that." Scootaloo lowered her head.

/He's your brother. You're the only one who's even related to him. This one's on you./

"Scootaloo, look at me." Lightning tilted Scootaloo's chin with his hoof so she was looking him in the eyes. "This isn't your fault. You didn't do this. Steel did."

"But I-"

"No buts. Instead of wishing you had done something differently, you need to be the role model he needs right now."

"I..." Scootaloo looked back at Steel. She shook her head. "You're right. Thank you."

Lightning pulled Scootaloo into him and wrapped her in a hug.

"Scoot, I love you. I just want to help you stay on track."

Scootaloo relaxed in Lightning's embrace.

"I love you too, Lightning."

Scootaloo and Lightning brought their lips together in a loving embrace. For a moment, Scootaloo had entirely forgotten where she was and why she was there. But only for a moment. After they parted their kiss, Scootaloo returned her gaze to her brother. She was going to help him through everything that was happening. She was going to be the sister he needed, and she was going to be stronger than she had ever been before. She stood and walked to Steel's bedside. She rested a hoof on his shoulder.

"Steel...If you can hear me right now, I want you to know that I'll always be there for you. I'm your big sister, and I'll be damned if I don't start acting like it."


	16. Get Well Soon (real)

Steel slowly opened his eyes. His head throbbed, and he desperately needed a glass of water. Much to his delight, he found one on the nightstand next to his bed. He looked around the room he was in. It didn't take him long to figure out he was in a hospital.

/Buuuuck...What did I do this time?/ He thought to himself. He heard gentle breathing below him. He leaned over the side of the bed to get a look, and his eyes shot open.

"Autumn?" He whispered. He rubbed his eyes, noticing the bandages on his right foreleg. When he looked back down, she was still there, sleeping soundly on the floor. After a more careful inspection of her, he noticed a bandage just above her left eye. A feeling of regret flooded through him, but he never took his eyes off of her.

/She's so cute when she's curled up like that./ He thought with a smile. He lowered his head and looked away. /I don't deserve her./ He heard the door to his room open, and when he looked up he saw Winter Wind standing in the doorway.

"You're awake." Winter began. "Autumn will be pleased to know that."

Steel was disturbed by the lack of emotion in Winter's voice. Steel couldn't bear to look him in the eye.

"You should take her home. She deserves better than to be stuck in a room with me." Steel responded. Winter sighed.

"Steel, I don't know why you did what you did, but Autumn has faith in you. If her faith is well placed, there won't be any problem between you and me. If you hurt her again..." Winter gave stare that seemed to pierce through his soul. "If you hurt her again, I better not see you anywhere near her. Do you understand?"

Steel looked away. He couldn't meet Winter's gaze.

"Then you should just take her home. I...don't want her to be around if...if I lose it again."

The voices of the ponies in the room talking slowly brought Autumn out of her sleep. She looked around the room. She saw her father's icy gaze and followed it to Steel. As soon as she saw that Steel was awake, she hopped up and stepped away from the bed.

"Steel...how are you feeling?"

Steel brought his gaze to meet Autumn's, but immediately drew it away.

"I...Autumn..." He felt his eyes welling with tears. He didn't care anymore, he just wanted her to know how he felt. "Autumn, I'm so sorry. For whatever it's worth, I can't tell you how awful I feel. I-" Steel wasn't able to finish his sentence before Autumn had wrapped her forelegs around him in the most loving embrace he had ever remembered receiving.

"I'm so happy you're back Steel." Autumn had buried her face into Steel's chest. Steel felt his coat getting wet from the joyful tears streaming down her face. "I was so worried about you. Please Steel, tell me what's going on. I want to help you."

Steel was overwhelmed with emotion. He wrapped his forelegs around Autumn's back. /Why is she doing this? Is it possible that she still cares about me? She should hate me for what I did to her.../

"I'm okay now, Autumn. It's over. Well, it almost is. I don't-"

Autumn pulled away from Steel. It didn't take a genius to see that she was pissed.

"No. You're done keeping me out of the loop. Steel, tell me what's going on so I can help you."

Steel felt anger well inside him, but it quickly subsided. He gave in to his defeat.

"All right, I'll tell you. It's a long story though..."

Scootaloo trotted through Ponyville with a bag in her mouth. Inside the bag was eleven delicious pastry treats (she had bought a dozen, but that apple fritter looked WAY too good to pass up).

"Where you headed with that bag, Scoot?"

"Jimmy, I'm pretty sure it's not for you."

"It won't be if I don't ask, Sweets."

Scootaloo laughed at Sweetie and Jimmy's argument. It always warmed her heart seeing the two of them together.

"I"m fickim up Fteel fir-"

"Scoot? You might be able to talk better if you set the bag down."

Scootaloo gave Sweetie Belle a knowing glance. Sweetie nodded and enveloped Jimmy with a magical aura. Scootaloo set the bag down and Jimmy attempted to lunge for it, making no progress.

"Dammit Sweets, let me go! That looks delicious!"

"You have a problem, Jimmy! They're bucking pastries!"

"No, they're bucking AMAZING pastries!"

Scootaloo laughed. Jimmy's addiction to Sugarcube Corner pastries was well known among Ponyville, and it was no surprise he had tried to take her treat for Steel at his first opportunity.

"Sorry Jimmy, these are for Steel and me. We're going to have a nice "brother - sister bonding day" to celebrate his release from the hospital."

Jimmy and Sweetie each gave Scootaloo a curious look.

"What's Steel in the hospital for?" Sweetie asked.

"Why are you bringing him Sugarcube Corner for that?" Jimmy asked. Sweetie Belle hit Jimmy on the top of the head.

"Does it matter? Her brother is in the bucking hospital!"

"But-"

Sweetie and Scootaloo facehoofed simultaneously, stopping Jimmy from finishing his sentence.

"To answer your question Sweets, Steel hurt himself last night. Pretty badly."

A look of concern washed over Sweetie Belle's face.

"What happened?"

Scootaloo sighed. She hated thinking about what her brother had done.

"He cut himself. And he dug pretty deep. He didn't hit a vein, but he lost a fair amount of blood."

Sweetie and Jimmy's jaws dropped.

"Sweet Celestia, is he okay?!" Sweetie Belle almost screamed.

"He's better now, but he's been asleep for the last sixteen hours." As if on cue, Scootaloo yawned. "And I haven't been."

Sweetie Belle and Jimmy jumped to Scootaloo's side. Scootaloo raised an eyebrow at the couple.

"What are you two doing?" She asked.

"We're going to see Steel with you. Duh." Sweetie responded. Jimmy nodded.

"What she said."

"I think I'd rather-"

"You begin that sentence as if we're giving you a choice." Sweetie responded.

"I appreciate the offer, but-"

"Scoot, we're worried about Steel more than you. We know you can handle this, you're a grown mare. Steel's still a colt. We want him to know that he has our support." Jimmy cut in.

"Whether he likes it or not." Sweetie Belle finished.

Scootaloo smiled. It was times like that when she was happy she had the friends she did.

"Thanks. I'm sure it will mean a lot to Steel. As long as Jimmy can stay somewhat mature through it all."

"I think I can manage." Jimmy said. Although he enjoyed goofing around as much as the rest of Iron Pony, he did know when the time called for him to be a stallion...most of the time anyway.

"Well, now that it's settled I say we get going!" Sweetie chirped. Scootaloo was surprised to see her skipping along like she was a foal again. She then understood when she watched Sweetie and Jimmy lean against each other as they walked.

/That's gonna last...I'm okay with it./ Scootaloo thought to herself with a smile.

It wasn't long before the three ponies were making their way down the halls of the hospital to Steel's room. Upon opening the door, they immediately noticed two things: One was a large white stallion who stood completely speechless while staring at Steel. The other was a small filly quietly sobbing into Steel's chest.

/Oh no...He told them...Well, this is gonna be interesting/ Scootaloo thought to herself. She trotted over to Steel's bed and set the pastry bag down next to him and Autumn.

"You lovebirds hungry?" She asked nonchalantly.

Autumn and Steel looked up at Scootaloo, but didn't say anything. Steel gave Scootaloo a look that said "Give us a minute." Scootaloo responded with a look that said "Okay, but just one."

Scootaloo stepped back and watched the scene unfold. It was strange for her to see. She wasn't sure what to feel. It was heartwarming to see that Steel had opened up to somepony outside of their family about what was going on, but she knew there was something going on inside of Steel's head that nopony else could see. Scootaloo opted to worry. She kept it to herself for now. She would talk to him about it later. She was about to step forward when she felt a hoof on her shoulder. She turned to see Winter Wind motioning with his head for her to follow him outside. Scootaloo obliged. She imagined he would have a lot to ask.

Scootaloo stepped outside of the room and gently closed the door behind her. She gave him a knowing glance.

"Steel told you and Autumn our family history, didn't he?" Scootaloo started. Winter nodded.

"For two ponies as young as you and your brother are...that's enough to break most ponies."

Scootaloo let out a bitter laugh.

"Believe me, we're no exception. You know what Steel did, and I still get a voice in my head whenever I do something wrong."

"How do you two keep going? I don't think I could stay on my hooves after what you've been through."

"When I was a filly, I went through a lot of therapy. I actually kept going until I was 19. Steel went through a series of therapy and anger management classes, but he wouldn't open up enough for the professionals to be much help. Really though, the most important thing for both of us is our strong support net that our close friends provide. Steel hasn't had too much of that because he won't open up to anypony though. I'm surprised he opened up to you and Autumn. I'm glad, but I'm very surprised."

"I don't think either of us were ready to hear that story. I can't imagine going through that even now, let alone when I was his age. It still doesn't excuse what he did to my daughter, but I think I can overlook that if he gets proper care."

Scootaloo sighed. She wanted Winter to know that her brother wasn't a bad colt, but she knew that by "proper care" he meant professional help.

"We're not sending him to a professional. We've tried that many times before, and every time ended with him in a worse state than he started in. We're going to help him as his family. That's what he needs. I just wish we had figured it out sooner. Maybe we could have prevented all this."

Winter was obviously displeased with Scootaloo's response.

"Now, Miss Dash. I appreciate what you're trying to do for your brother, but he needs a professional. I can't imagine what he's gone through, but-"

"Then you can't possibly know what he needs. Don't try to tell me how to handle this again." Scootaloo knew that Winter was trying to convince her to give Steel the best help he could get, but there were some things a pony had to experience to understand. Winter had no idea what was going on in Steel's head, but Scootaloo did. And she knew that no professional was going to be able to convince Steel to open up and allow them to help.

Winter took a step back. It was obvious he had crossed a line that shouldn't be crossed, and he knew when to quit. He nodded politely.

"I can't begin to understand what you and your family are going through right now. If there's anything I can do to help, just let me know."

Scootaloo smiled.

"Thank you, Mr. Wind. I appreciate that."

Winter nodded. Deciding there was nothing left to discuss, he walked back into Steel's room. Scootaloo followed close behind. She wished that Lightning didn't have to coach right then. It would have been nice to be able to lean on him for a while.

"Gentlecolts! I'm sure you're all aware that the stallion next to me has been shadowing me while I coached you all for the last couple of days!" Soarin' began. As he expected, his racers stood in line, but were goofing around instead of listening to him. He sighed. He was too old for this. "If you want to be a part of the next race, you're going to turn your attention to me right now!" He barked. His racers immediately snapped to attention. That was better. "Now that I have your attention, I'd like to introduce you to our new assistant coach! His name is Lightning Spark! He-"

"Duh, we know who Lightning Spark is, Coach. You don't have to tell us that."

Soarin' nodded to Lightning. Lightning kept a stone face as he walked toward the colt who had spoken out of turn.

"Do you know what my job is, son?" Lightning asked. The colt snickered.

"Son? You're what, ten years older than me and you're calling me-"

"MY JOB IS TO KICK YOUR ASS SO HARD THAT AT THE END OF PRACTICE YOU WON'T HAVE AN ASS TO KICK!" Lightning roared. The colt reflexively took a step back and lifted a hoof to protect his face. "Now, seeing as you have so kindly offered, why don't you demonstrate a Sunshine for me!" Lightning opted to use a bark for that order. The colt raised an eyebrow at Lightning.

"The buck is a Sunshine?"

Lightning grinned. It was going to be a fun couple of hours.

Lightning and Soarin' watched as worn out colts dragged themselves off of the practice field. For the most part, the racers liked Lightning - when he wasn't drilling them into the dirt.

"Nice work out there, Lightning. I think this group actually respects you." Soarin' started as they walked back to the locker room.

"Thanks Soarin'. I must say, I really enjoyed myself out there."

"I could tell. You did surprisingly well considering how distracted you were."

Lightning raised an eyebrow at Soarin'.

"How did you know I was distracted?"

"Please Lightning, I could always read you like a book. What's on your mind?"

Lightning shifted. Steel was a little brother to him, and he didn't want to betray his trust. But Lightning also knew that what Steel needed now more than anything was a father figure. And nopony fit the bill better than Soarin'.

"It's about Steel. Last night he...hurt himself."

"Oh? Is he alright?"

Lightning sighed. He stopped walking.

"I'd prefer it if this conversation didn't reach the ears of the colts on the team."

Soarin' nodded knowingly.

"Alright Lightning, what happened?"

Lightning sighed again.

"Steel...cut himself. I don't know everything, but from what I've gathered from Scootaloo's parents he felt he needed to punish himself for hitting his fillyfriend."

Soarin' nodded. If he felt any emotion from what he was being told, he wasn't showing it.

"I think what he needs more than anything right now is a father figure." Lightning continued. "He's had a lot of issues ever since he realized his father is dead, and I don't think he'll get over them without somepony playing the dad role. I've tried to step up and do that, but I'm too young to be anything more than an older brother."

Soarin' nodded. He had always maintained a close relationship with his father, so the prospect of growing up without one was something he couldn't stand the thought of.

"I think I could help with that." Soarin' said.

Lightning raised an eyebrow at Soarin'.

"Are you sure about that? You already have your daughter to take care of, and-"

"Nonsense Lightning. I'm always ready to help. Besides, Shy and I have another one on the way. If it's a colt, I want to have some practice."

Lightning's jaw dropped.

"Wait, you and Fluttershy are having another foal?!"

Soarin' winced.

"Keep it down, Lightning. We're waiting to make that announcement at Pinkie's next party. Besides, that's not the important part. If Steel's interested, tell him to meet me at my house tomorrow at eight in the morning. I'd like to spend some time with him."

Lightning smiled. He was incredibly happy with Soarin's offer.

"I'll let him know."

Soarin' grinned.

"Well, now that we have that settled, what do you say to some scotch and a cigar?"

"Yes to the scotch, no to the cigar. If I come home smelling like smoke Scoot's going to be pissed."

"Mares are such a pain sometimes, aren't they?" Soarin' said with a laugh.

"Yes, yes they are. I'll take you up on that cigar on a later date."

"Sounds like a plan."


	17. Chapter 17

Steel landed in front of Soarin' and Fluttershy's cottage. He wasn't sure what Soarin' expected to accomplish at this unholy hour of the day, but if it was going to help him out he figured he might as well give it a shot. It didn't take long for him to spot Soarin', Fluttershy, and Aerial watching the sunrise from the front porch. Soarin' gave Steel a wave as Steel approached the cottage.

"Hey there, bud! How's it going?"

"Tired. How about you, Soarin'?" Steel had never taken to calling Soarin' his uncle. It just didn't feel right to him, even though he knew that was his relation to the older stallion.

"The sun is shining and I'm with my family! I couldn't be better!" Soarin' exclaimed with cheer. Steel had no idea how Soarin' had that kind of energy in the morning. It seemed wrong to him.

"Cousin Steel!"

Steel smiled as Aerial got up and galloped to him. She hadn't learned to fly yet, but she managed to buzz in the air next to him long enough to wrap her forelegs around his neck.

"Hey, Aerial! What's up with you?" Steel asked.

"Daddy's gonna take me to school soon! Do you wanna come? Daddy, can cousin Steel come to school with me?"

Soarin' laughed.

"Aerial, you don't have school today, remember? It's Saturday."

"Aww..." Aerial lowered her head and her ears dropped. Soarin' laughed.

"Give her about two years and that will be her face on Monday morning."

Steel laughed with Soarin'. Fluttershy gave Aerial a comforting hug as the filly walked back to the porch.

"It's okay, Pumpkin. You'll get to go to school in a couple days."

Aerial perked right back up.

"Really?!"

"Yes, Pumpkin."

Aerial gave a small squee and jumped back up. She flapped her wings and buzzed in the air for a little bit before falling down and landing hard on the porch. Fluttershy moved to help her up, but the energetic filly had already bounced back to her hooves and began trotting in circles in front of her parents. The three older ponies couldn't help but laugh at how adorable the filly was. Fluttershy got up and knelt in front of Aerial.

"Mommy has to take care of the animals now. Do you want to help?"

Aerial's face lit up.

"I can help?! Can I, can I, can I?!"

Fluttershy giggled and patted her daughter on the head.

"Of course you can, Pumpkin."

Aerial proceeded to jump up and began to trot circles around Fluttershy as the two headed towards the woods, leaving Steel and Soarin' alone together. Steel noticed Soarin's face turn to stone.

"Show me."

Steel sighed. He knew what Soarin' was talking about.

"Do I have to?"

"Yes."

Steel sighed again and unwrapped the bandages on his leg so the cuts were visible. Soarin' got up to take a close look at it. The then turned and pulled Steel in for a gentle hug. Steel initially tensed up, but it wasn't long before he found comfort in the gesture. Soarin' pulled away and looked Steel in the eye.

"Let's go inside. I want this to stay between you and me."

Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, Jimmy and Applebloom sat on their haunches waiting for the train to arrive. They had decided to go and visit Kitty both to check up on her and to see why it was taking so long for Shepard and Mac to come home.

"So, what do you think we'll learn when we get there?" Jimmy asked.

"Hopefully that Kitty and Shepard are at least going to try getting together." Scootaloo responded.

"You say that as if you like the idea of in - band relationships." Sweetie countered.

"Says th' mare datin' her drummer." Applebloom added with a condescending tone of voice. Sweetie blushed and leaned against Jimmy.

"Good point. And he is quite the 'drummer', if you know what I mean."

Jimmy blushed hotly as the mares around him laughed.

"Sweets, we talked about that..."

"I know, I just like giving you a hard time."

Scootaloo thought she saw Sweetie Belle's eye twitch when she said that. She tapped her friend on the shoulder.

"Mind if we have a word in private?" Scootaloo asked. Sweetie Belle shrugged and followed Scootaloo to a safe distance. As soon as she knew she was out of earshot, she gave Scootaloo a pleading look.

"Scoot, you've gotta help me! I'm dying here!"

"Woah, Sweets. What's going on?" A look of genuine concern washed over Scootaloo's face.

"This 'no sex' thing! It's evil! For two years I almost never get anything while I'm sober, and now that I have a coltfriend I'm not getting anything at all! What do I do?!"

Scootaloo facehoofed.

"Really, Sweets? That's killing you?"

"YES! How in the the name of all things that are bucking holy did you manage to go seven years with Lightning without it?!" Sweetie Belle looked like she was about to fall apart. Scootaloo laughed.

"It wasn't hard when I didn't know what I was missing. Now that I do, I don't think I could go two weeks without getting something from him."

"What are you trying to say?!" Sweetie Belle pleaded. Scootaloo smirked.

"I'm saying good luck."

Sweetie Belle slumped over. It was then that Scootaloo noticed a dark patch of fur on the inside of her foreleg.

"Sweets, what's that on your leg?"

Sweetie Belle's look of despair washed away, replaced by an ear to ear grin. She turned her foreleg so Scootaloo could see the complete design.

"You like it? It's called a tattoo!"

Scootaloo's face contorted into a look of pure confusion.

"The buck is a 'tattoo'?" She asked. Somehow Sweetie Belle's grin grew even wider.

"It's a permanent coat die! I can have a design anywhere I want on my body! I can have all the badass cutie marks I want!"

Scootaloo examined Sweetie Belle's tattoo more closely.

"It looks like the head of a snake." She noted.

"That's because that's what it is! I'm going to have the body wrap around my whole foreleg! Isn't that awesome!?"

Scootaloo pondered the idea for a moment.

"Actually, yeah it is! I need to get some of those!" A grin formed on Scootaloo's face as she thought of all the body art possibilities she could think of.

"Great! We can visit the new tattoo parlor together when we get back to Ponyville!"

"Tattoo 'parlor'?" Scootaloo asked. Sweetie Belle shrugged.

"That's what Needles calls it."

"Needles? You mean the stallion that did your piercings when we were teenagers?" Scootaloo asked.

"Yeah! He does tattoos there now as well! I'm so glad I got rid of those piercings..." Sweetie Belle thought aloud, to which Scootaloo laughed. She pointed at Sweetie's gauges.

"Not all of them."

Sweetie Belle laughed and twitched her ears.

"Yeah, sadly there's no covering those up."

"You two gonna sit here and chat all day? The train's here." Jimmy had never been one to worry about interrupting a conversation. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo looked in the direction of the platform. Sure enough, the train had arrived and was currently boarding passengers to Canterlot.

"Wow...I figured I would hear a train pulling in." Sweetie Belle noted in disbelief.

"So would I." Jimmy responded. "What were you guys talking about?"

Sweetie Belle gave Jimmy a condescending look. Jimmy nodded in understanding.

"Right, mare stuff. A sexy hunk of stallion like me wouldn't understand."

"You're smarter than you let on." Sweetie Belle teased and kissed Jimmy.

"I do what I can." Jimmy replied nonchalantly after parting from Sweetie. Scootaloo suppressed the desire to squeal with joy.

"Y'all gettin' on the train er what? 'Cause Ah don't think it's gonna wait fer y'all ta finish."

"Always the impatient one, aren't you Applebloom?" Scootaloo asked with a smug grin.

"Ah prefer the term 'focused'. Somepony's gotta pay attention to the real world so y'all can get where yer goin'."

"Good point." Jimmy noted and lifted his saddlebags onto his back with his magic. Sweetie did the same, while Scootaloo grunted and for the thousandth time cursed her lack of a horn. The four ponies quickly boarded the train and settled into a car. They had a long ride ahead of them. Applebloom settled into the seat closest to the aisle next to Scootaloo, and Sweetie and Jimmy leaned into each other as the closed their eyes and tried to get some sleep. Applebloom made an effort not to look in their direction, and Scootaloo took notice.

"Applebloom? Something on your mind?"

Applebloom hesitated for a moment, then motioned for Scootaloo to follow her. Scootaloo and Applebloom stepped outside the train car and took in the sight of the busy train platform.

"What's wrong, Applebloom?" Scootaloo asked. Applebloom sighed.

"Ah guess Ah just wish Sweets and Jimmy weren't so snuggly around me. Don't get me wrong, Ah'm really happy fer them. It's just that everypony around me has somepony, and Ah don't. You got Lightning, those two have each other, and if Kitty doesn't have Shepard yet than Ah'll be kinda disappointed. Ah guess Ah'm just a little jealous is all."

Scootaloo wasn't sure what to say to that. She couldn't pretend like she understood. Scootaloo had always had somepony, even before she started dating Lightning. Applebloom hadn't had a date since her junior year of high school. Scootaloo wrapped her wing around Applebloom.

"There's somepony out there for you, Applebloom. You just gotta get out there and find him."

Applebloom sighed.

"Ah hope yer right."

Spitfire lay on the couch next to Rainbow. It was the first time in a long time that they were able to get home from work and not have to worry about taking care of one of their adopted foals, so they took full advantage of the moment to get some peaceful snuggling time. Oddly enough, Rainbow seemed to enjoy this as much as Spitfire.

"It's been too long since we've just relaxed like this." Spitfire said to break the silence.

"Yeah..." Rainbow responded. "I love our kids to death, but ever since we adopted them, it's been one rough day after another."

"It has...But they've been worth every hardship we've faced since we took them in." A warm smile spread across Spitfire's face. She noticed that Rainbow had a similar smile on hers.

"Yeah, it has." Rainbow paused. Concern was evident on her face. "You think Soarin' will get through to Steel?"

Spitfire sighed. She wasn't sure if Soarin' could help the poor colt. At the moment she didn't have any better ideas.

"I really hope so. For now I'm just going to count our family lucky to have a stallion like him in it."

"Yeah. It's weird to think that he actually is family."

"I know. I met him long after Aerial was moved out of the house, and he never mentioned her when we were growing up."

"Wait, you're telling me that he never told you he had a sister?" Rainbow asked.

"It never came up. When Soarin' and I hung out growing up, we usually only talked about flying. Neither one of us liked talking about our family lives, especially after we got into high school." Spitfire explained. Rainbow gave an understanding nod.

"Ahh, that makes sense I guess. I never really talked about my family with my friends growing up either. Or my friends here in Ponyville. I guess nopony ever asked."

"Speaking of, when are your parents coming to visit? I thought you said they were going to be dropping by sometime soon." Spitfire asked.

"They're going to be by in about a week. Scoot will be happy to see them." Rainbow answered.

"Yeah, she will. Anyway, I'm hungry. You want anything?" Spitfire asked as she kissed Rainbow and got off the couch.

"Naah, I'm not hungry. Right now is nap time, not food time." Rainbow responded as she flopped onto her back and and immediately drifted off to sleep. Spitfire laughed. She wasn't sure how Rainbow managed to fall asleep on a whim like that, but she had long ago ceased to be surprised by it. She made her way to the kitchen and began to fix herself something to eat. She made a simple salad, just enough to hold her over until dinner. She grunted when the doorbell rang, forcing her away from the delicious blend of lettuce and vegetables before her. She trotted to the front door fast enough to avoid keeping her company waiting, but slow enough that she could delay the experience for just a little bit longer. She looked through the spyhole and couldn't believe her eyes. She pushed open the door and leaned against the frame. She wore a blank expression on her face as she looked at the ponies in front of her. Two ponies she hadn't seen in a long time. The ponies shifted uncomfortably while waiting for Spitfire to say something. Spitfire noticed that they were waiting on her, and thus decided to start the conversation.

"Mom. Dad."


	18. Chapter 18

"Mom. Dad." Spitfire didn't say anything else. She didn't plan to give her parents a warm reception. Her mother spoke up next.

"Spitfire, honey-"

"Honey? You think you can call me HONEY?! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, FIREFLY?!" Spitfire roared. Firefly shrunk back, allowing her fear to break through her composure. Spitfire's father fired back, unwilling to watch Spitfire hurt her mother.

"That is your MOTHER you're screaming at! How dare-"

"Not anymore, she's not! And I'll bet you think you can call yourself my father, don't you Ebony?" Spitfire shot back as she took an aggressive step towards her father. Her father prepared for the worst.

"Spitfire? What's all the screa-" Rainbow stopped mid-sentence as she saw Spitfire's parents shaking before what appeared to be their impending doom. Rainbow's eyes narrowed as she glared daggers at the elder couple.

"What exactly are /YOU/ two doing here?" Rainbow demanded. Firefly stumbled over her words as she choked out her response.

"W-we came t-to make things r-right. We just want our daughter back." She was stumbling over her words, but she managed to continue. "We r-realized we were w-wrong, Spitfire. I know th-there's nothing w-we can do to make up for it, but we're so sorry."

Spitfire looked down at her mother. Her face seemed to be made of stone.

"Those words might have meant something fifteen years ago, Firefly. They might have meant something if you had come to our wedding and said them." Spitfire's voice broke as she remembered the two empty seats in the audience that day. "But now? Now they're not worth a damn thing."

Ebony began to take a step forward, but caught himself. He knew Spitfire was right to be angry. He lowered his head.

"Spitfire, you...have every right to be angry with us right now." It was obviously difficult for Ebony to get his words out. Apologizing wasn't something he was used to doing. "What we did to you was...the most horrible thing two ponies could do to their daughter. We were so stuck in our ways that we refused to accept you for who you are. We were wrong, Spitfire." His last two words were next to impossible for him to force out. "We're sorry."

Spitfire gave a bitter laugh.

"You're sorry? That's the best you can come up with?" Spitfire felt sorrow building inside her. As angry as she was at her parents, she knew deep down that ever since they left her life she desperately wanted them back. But she couldn't show them that now. She had to be like Rainbow. She knew she was better off without her parents, and she needed to let her parents know just that. "You missed fifteen years of my life. Fifteen years of crap that I needed help with, and you weren't there." Spitfire took a deep breath before continuing. "You weren't there when I threw away my old life so I could be happy. You weren't there when I moved to a new town full of ponies I had never met. You weren't there when I got married and became a parent. WHERE IN THE HAY WERE YOU?!" Spitfire had to force herself to steady her breathing. She was losing her composure, and she couldn't let that happen at the moment. She steadied herself and continued. "I'm doing fine without you two in my life. I think I'd like it to stay that way."

"Sp-Spitfire...Please..." Firefly pleaded with her daughter. The older mare's eyes had begun to water. Spitfire shot her a glare that could pierce steel.

"Don't you /dare/ start crying, Firefly. Do you have any idea how nice it would have been to have parents over the last fifteen years?" Spitfire gave a bitter laugh to keep herself from breaking down. "I'm not even an orphan and I don't remember what it's like to have a mother and a father. You two never gave me a chance. Why should I give you one?" Spitfire turned to hide her hurt from her parents. If they knew how much their absence had hurt her, they would know she wasn't as strong as she looked. She then made her way back inside. She stopped at the door to give her parents one last message. "Make sure you don't find your way back here." With that, Spitfire closed the door, leaving her disheartened parents outside.

"I can't believe they just came back! After all this time, they just thought they could waltz on back here and apologize as if that's going to make up for it! Ugh, if I look out the window and they're still there I'll kill both of them!" Spitfire couldn't help but scream as her pent up rage exploded. Rainbow made an effort to keep her distance and let the situation run it's course until Spitfire had properly vented. Rainbow had only seen Spitfire truly angry a couple of times prior, but from those experiences she knew not to be within her hooves' reach. As if on cue, Spitfire smashed a lamp next to their couch and sent it hurtling across the room. "FIFTEEN YEARS AND THEY THINK THEY CAN JUST COME BACK?! DAMN THEM BOTH!" Spitfire bucked the couch, flipping it over. "THOSE SORRY SACKS OF SHIT! WHAT ARE THEY DOING HERE?!" Spitfire swung at another lamp and missed. She swung again, and missed again. She continued as tears began to fall from her eyes. Eventually she fell to her haunches and let the sobs come.

"What are they doing here, Rainbow?" Spitfire had to force the question out. She didn't expect Rainbow to have an answer, but she didn't have anypony else to go to.

Rainbow saw that as her cue to step in and comfort her wife. She sat next to Spitfire, wrapped a wing around her and pulled her close. Rainbow gently stroked Spitfire's mane as she cried into her shoulder.

"Don't worry, Spitfire. It'll be okay."

Rainbow didn't realize that she couldn't have possibly made a worse word choice. Spitfire launched off of Rainbow and hovered in the air.

Okay? OKAY?! HOW STUPID ARE YOU, RAINBOW?! My parents just show up out of the blue after FIFTEEN YEARS and all you have to say is 'It'll be OKAY?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"

Rainbow was taken aback. Spitfire had never let loose such an outburst at her before. Rainbow's lower lip trembled and Spitfire realized her mistake. She shot to the floor and threw her forelegs around her wife.

"Rainbow...I'm so sorry. I...buck, what did I do that for?" Spitfire hung her head low. She felt a gentle nuzzle on her cheek. She looked up to see a gentle look on Rainbow's face. Such a look was a rarity coming from Rainbow, and Spitfire was rather surprised.

"It's cool, Spitfire. You're stressed, I get it."

Spitfire's jaw dropped. That was it? She was forgiven, just like that? She felt fresh tears welling in her eyes and she didn't hesitate to let them flow. Rainbow wrapped her forelegs around Spitfire and let her cry into her shoulder.

"I love you, Rainbow."

"I love you, Spitfire."

Steel and Soarin' sat in the main room of the cottage. Soarin' bore an expression chiseled in stone, while Steel's features seemed to be drained of any emotion at all.

"I...I just don't get it. Why does she still care about me? Why do I still matter to her?" Steel hoped against hope that Soarin' could offer a good answer to his questions. He needed one. Soarin' was quick to give him one.

"Because she knows who you are, Steel. She doesn't look at you and see the colt that hit her, she sees you. You said you weren't in your right mind when you hit her, right?"

Steel let his gaze drift to the floor. He wanted to cry, but he didn't feel the need to. He didn't feel much of anything really. He searched himself for something, /anything/. Any emotion he could latch onto. He sighed as he found nothing.

"Yeah, that's what I said." Steel didn't lift his gaze from the floor. He had stopped feeling the moment he started recalling the events of the previous few days to Soarin'. Now all he wanted was to be alone. Away from anypony he could bring more harm to.

"Steel, you there?"

Steel looked up as he registered the fact that he had gotten lost in thought.

"Yeah. Yeah, I am."

"What were you thinking about?" Soarin' calmly asked. Steel heaved another heavy sigh.

"All I've done since I was adopted is cause problems. I hurt ponies, it's just what I do. I can't help it. I've made Scootaloo miserable, Rainbow and Spitfire constantly bend over backwards for me and I shove it right back into their faces. I ditch my friends as soon as I get a fillyfriend, and then I punch her in the face." Steel searched again for some emotion to fill the void. Something to feel so he wouldn't be empty. Again, he found nothing. He let out a long, slow sigh. "Sometimes I just think Equestria would be better off without me."

Soarin' sat rigid in his chair. Hearing those words from Steel chilled him to the core.

"Listen to me, Steel. I don't EVER want to hear you talk like that again, do you understand me?"

Steel shrugged.

"Why not?"

Soarin' took a calming breath to compose himself.

"Think of everypony who you care about." He began. "They all care about you more than you could ever imagine. If Equestria would be better off without you, Autumn wouldn't have came to see you in the hospital, Spitfire and Rainbow wouldn't have taken you there, and I wouldn't have taken time away from my family to be with you right now!"

Steel shrank back as Soarin' half yelled the last part of his small pep talk. Soarin' again took a moment to compose himself. He was outraged that Steel even thought he would be a blight on the world, but losing his temper could only hurt he situation. Steel lowered his head.

"Sorry, Soarin'." He didn't know what else to say. Soarin' frowned at Steel's half hearted apology, but there wasn't much he could do. He got up and sat next to Steel.

"Steel, I can't help you unless you're willing to help yourself. I can give you all the advice the world has to offer and it won't do a thing unless you accept it with a positive outlook. Steel, your happiness is YOURS to take. You just have to take it."

Steel's face twisted into one of rage as anger welled inside of him. What right did Soarin' have to say stuff like that? Soarin' didn't know what he was going through! He stood up and faced the older stallion.

"You make it sound so easy, you know that! Like forgetting everything that's happened is just another thing on a list of simple chores! Like I'm supposed to get up and face Autumn without constantly thinking about what I did to her!" Steel flared his wings as he tried to stare Soarin' down. "Like I can just go home and talk to my parents and pretend that I deserve the love they give me! You don't know what it's like to be the pony that holds everypony else back!"

"YOU LISTEN TO ME, STEEL!" Soarin' shouted back. His volume alone was enough to silence Steel. "Do you honestly think I want you to forget what happened over the last few weeks? Do you honestly think you don't deserve your parents care and affection? Who are you to act like you just did to the stallion who's trying to help you?" Soarin' smiled gently as Steel controlled his breathing, allowing himself to relax. "Steel, I just want to help. But as I said earlier, I can only help you if you're willing to help yourself."

Steel lowered his head and fell back onto his haunches. He let his wings drop to the floor next to him.

/Maybe...Maybe he's right.../ Steel thought to himself.

"I...okay." Steel said with a sigh. "But how do I help myself?"

Soarin' offered a gentle smile.

"You have to /want/ to be happy. Nothing in Equestria can make you happy if you don't want to be happy. Now, do you want to be happy?"

Steel looked up at Soarin'. The older stallion's smile reassured him. He nodded. Soarin's smile grew into a childish grin.

"Good! Now that we have that out of the way, what do you say to some apple pie before I send you on your way?"

Steel was a little confused. It was only 8:30. He had just gotten to Soarin's house.

"Wait, that's it? That's what you wanted to see me for?" Steel asked. Soarin' rolled his eyes.

"You didn't think we were going to have the whole conversation over the course of a single day, did you? I'll see you tomorrow morning, same time."

Steel groaned at the prospect of getting up at that unholy hour of the morning again. Soarin' laughed.

"Trust me, Steel. This is good for you. Before long you'll be getting up early every day and you won't even notice it."

Steel shuddered at that prospect as he watched Soarin' energetically search his fridge for some apple pie.

"A-HA! Here we go!" Soarin' exclaimed before gripping the pie tin in his teeth and setting it down on the counter. "Come on Steel, let's eat!"

Steel scratched his head with a hoof.

"Um, I appreciate this and all, but why are we having apple pie?"

Soarin' rolled his eyes.

"Because I can't drink with you and I can't send you off on an empty stomach. Now eat some pie, alright?"

Steel sighed.

"I really should get going..."

Soarin' gave Steel a condescending glance.

"Where?"

Steel desperately searched his mind for an excuse, but found nothing. He sighed again.

"Nowhere."

Soarin' responded by giving Steel a smug grin and shoving some pie in his direction. Steel shrugged and dove into the dessert.

"Oh, and Steel?" Soarin' began between bites. Steel looked up.

"Yeah?"

"When did you start calling Rainbow and Spitfire your parents?"


	19. Chapter 19

Spitfire and Rainbow Dash lay on the couch in their living room. Rainbow kept her forelegs wrapped gently around Spitfire's back, trying to offer as much comfort as she could. For the thousandth time that day, Rainbow cursed herself for her lack of ability to comfort a pony who needed it, especially her own wife. Then again, she also wasn't sure how justified Spitfire's actions were. She had stood by her at the time, but now it just seemed like Spitfire did more harm than good in denying her parents the opportunity to be a part of her life again.

"Spitfire, do you really think telling your parents off was a good idea?" Rainbow asked. "I know they abandoned you, but is it really worth forcing yourself to suffer more for it?"

Spitfire sighed in Rainbow's embrace. She /did/ miss her parents, more than words could describe. She just wasn't prepared for their sudden arrival.

"No...no it wasn't. I just wish they hadn't taken me by surprise." Spitfire responded. Rainbow gave her a funny look.

"How could they let you know ahead of time that they were coming?" Rainbow asked. Spitfire gave Rainbow a condescending glance.

"The same way your parents do. With a letter."

"Oh...right." Rainbow responded. She nuzzled Spitfire for what seemed to be the thousandth time since the brief reunion with her parents. Spitfire sighed and buried her head into Rainbow's chest.

"What do I do now, Rainbow?" Spitfire asked. "I just told them off, so they're probably headed back to Cloudsdale. Am I going to have another chance to reconcile with them?" Spitfire began to tremble as she felt fresh tears making their way to her eyes. "I've wanted my parents back for the last fifteen years, and I just shoved them back out the door. Did I just ruin my one chance to make things better?"

Rainbow held Spitfire tightly as she began to cry again. Rainbow gently stroked Spitfire's mane, trying to calm her down. She kissed the top of Spitfire's head, eliciting another sigh from the mare.

"My mom always used to shove food in my mouth when I started spouting nonsense. It was her way of telling me to shut up and think reasonably." Rainbow began. Spitfire cocked an eyebrow at Rainbow.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Spitfire asked. Rainbow gave Spitfire a warm smile.

"It means you're being an idiot, Spitfire."

Spitfire turned her head so she could show Rainbow just how unhappy that remark made her. She lifted a hoof to smack Rainbow before Rainbow raised a hoof.

"The food in my mouth also was her way of telling me to shut up and listen so what she was trying to say made some sense."

Spitfire huffed and stamped her hoof back into the floor. She shot Rainbow with a glare that said "You owe me for that." Rainbow grinned.

"I don't owe you crap, Spitfire. Anyway, do you honestly think your parents would make the trip out here expecting everything to go well right away? I'll bet they got here yesterday and are staying at the hotel by the library."

Spitfire thought about that for a moment. Cloudsdale wasn't exactly near Ponyville at the moment. In fact, for two ponies the age of her parents, it was almost a two day flight at it's current point in the drift. It wasn't likely that they were going home anytime soon. Spitfire smiled.

"Then...maybe I could...wait, what? Oh, that little shit!"

Rainbow cocked a quizzical eyebrow as Spitfire jumped to her hooves and galloped to the door.

"Spitfire? Where are you going?"

Spitfire threw the door open.

"Somepony's getting his flank kicked."

Soarin' looked Steel over with an ear to ear grin. Steel had finally accepted Rainbow and Spitfire as family. He never expected to make so much progress in one day. He cast a glance at his liquor cabinet, which was disguised as any other cabinet in the house. He shook his head, but then again allowed his eyes to fall on the cabinet that contained every one of his beloved decanters of scotch, whiskey, and every other alcoholic beverage he celebrated with. He nodded and walked over to the cabinet.

"Hmm...for a first drink...Aha! Here we go!"

Soarin' pulled out two glasses and a decanter of his best whiskey. He tossed the glasses onto his forehead and held the decanter in his mouth. The peculiar balancing act was well practiced, and he made it back to the counter where Steel sat without incident. Steel looked up at Soarin' with a raised eyebrow.

"What's that for?" Steel asked. Soarin' grinned.

"Everypony has to start sometime. Consider it a treat for your progress." Soarin' responded. He then began to pour a small amount of the brown fluid into each glass, slowly to ensure he wouldn't spill even a drop. Steel shrugged.

"Works for me." Steel said. Steel took one of the glasses and raised it to his lips. Before he could take a drink however, a loud crash resounded as the door to the cottage exploded in on the two. Steel and Soarin' spun around to see an enraged Spitfire standing in the doorway.

"Steel, you are too young for that! As for /YOU/, Soarin'...I hate to make Fluttershy a widow, but everypony has to /die/ sometime." Spitfire growled. Bloodlust dripped from her tongue as she spoke. Steel and Soarin' swallowed, their eyes wide with fear.

"Bucking Mom Sense..." They said in unison.

Scootaloo grunted as light flooded her irises. She hated sleeping in any mattress that wasn't made of clouds, especially hotel beds, but she didn't have any other option at the moment. She rolled out of bed and began a well practiced routine of cracking every joint in her body. The sound it made wasn't all to dissimilar from that of the grand finale of a fireworks show.

"Ugh...I bucking hate those things..." Scootaloo said with a grunt. She yawned as she stepped into the shower. After a quick stretch, sh turned on the hot water nozzle, and in her sleep deprived state, her attempt to turn the cold water nozzle only resulted in unleashing more of the now superheated water onto her. She yelped as she tried to jump out of the shower, only to hit the shower curtain and pull it off the wall with her as she fell. She groaned as she landed on the hard tile floor, now completely entangled by the shower curtain.

"Buuuuuuuuck...I really hate hotels..."

"You and me both! I couldn't get any sleep on that tiny bed! Well, I would have been able to if Jimmy didn't take up the whole bucking thing! You wouldn't believe how much he rolls around in his sleep! I could have sworn he was using me as a drum kit in his dream! Scoot? Scoot, are you listening to me?"

For reasons Scootaloo herself didn't understand, Sweetie Belle's sudden presence didn't surprise her in the least. What surprised her was that her friend was already prepared for the day. She had groomed herself, raised her mane into it's usual liberty spiked mohawk, and it even appeared that she had successfully taken a shower. Scootaloo grunted for what seemed to be the thousandth time that morning.

"Honestly, not so much. What were you saying?"

Sweetie Belle began to ramble on and on about her unpleasant stay in the hotel, seemingly oblivious to Scootaloo's predicament with the shower curtain. Scootaloo quickly became quite irritated as she realized she was far more entangled in the curtain than she had anticipated. She recalled watching a video of a pony named Halterdini get himself out of a straightjacket, and decided to give his method a try. As she rolled around on the floor, she quickly realized that the only thing she was succeeding in was making a foal of herself. She sighed.

"...And then he kicked me in the head! Right in the head! What a dick, right? Scoot, are you going to stop rolling around on the floor in that thing anytime soon? I'm trying to tell a story." Sweetie Belle looked down on Scootaloo with an irritated stare. Scootaloo grunted.

"Maybe you could help me out. That might make things a little quicker." Scootaloo immediately regretted her sarcastic response as Sweetie Belle sighed.

"Fine, fine, but just this once."

As Sweetie Belle finished her sentence, a white aura enveloped her horn and a corner of the shower curtain that was wrapped around Scootaloo. She yanked the curtain with her magic, and Scootaloo sighed as she found herself spinning as the curtain was pulled away from her. When Sweetie had pulled the last of the curtain out from around Scootaloo, Scootaloo found herself about a foot off of the floor. She grunted again as she hit the floor and Sweetie Belle began talking again.

"Ugh...I bucking hate hotels..."

"Mommy, can I have ice cream when we get back home?" Aerial asked as she bounced around Fluttershy. Fluttershy gave Aerial a warm smile.

"Because you were such a big help, of course you can." Fluttershy responded. Aerial hopped and buzzed her wings, allowing her to hover as she squealed with delight.

"Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay! Thank you, Mommy!"

"You're welcome, Pumpkin." Fluttershy said happily as Aerial bounded towards their cottage. Fluttershy was pleasantly surprised to see Rainbow Dash waiting outside the door. Aerial bounced over to Rainbow with an ear to ear smile.

"Auntie Rainbow Dash! Hi! I helped Mommy take care of the animals! We had soooo much fun! The animals are so cute, I love helping Mommy take care of them! Do you like helping Mommy take care of the animals?"

Rainbow couldn't help but laugh at the filly's energy. It was as if pure joy bubbled out of her with every word she spoke.

"Hey, kiddo! Good to see you too!" Rainbow turned to Fluttershy. "Hey 'Shy! How's it hangin'?"

Fluttershy giggled at Rainbow's childish word choices. Like Pinkie Pie, Rainbow didn't change much since their youth.

"I'm doing wonderful, thank you. What brings you out here?" Fluttershy asked.

"Damage control." Rainbow responded calmly. Fluttershy instantly became worried, especially so as Spitfire walked out of the house with a satisfied grin on her face. Steel was in tow, his head lowered and his ears flat against his head.

"Now Steel, if you even /think/ about touching that stuff again before you're twenty-one, you're going to drink the whole bottle. Every. Last. Drop." Spitfire deliberately matched her steps to her words as she turned to face Steel. "And trust me, after and experience like that, you'll get sick every time you /look/ at whiskey from then on."

Steel swallowed hard and nodded. No more explanation was needed as Aerial bounded up the steps to the cottage.

"Hi, Auntie Spitfire!" Aerial exclaimed. The filly was as cheery as ever. Spitfire chuckled.

"Hey, Aerial! How's it going?"

"It's great, Auntie Spitfire! Were you talking to Daddy?"

Spitfire allowed herself an evil grin.

"You could say that."

"Spitfire? Steel? Soarin? Whiskey? Eeep!" Fluttershy hid behind her mane, eliciting a lighthearted chuckle from Spitfire.

"Don't worry, 'Shy, I took care of your husband." Spitfire said with a friendly wave before her mood soured. "And I didn't kill him. /This time.../" She added with a growl. Fluttershy squeaked and galloped inside. She squeaked at the scene before her. Soarin' was hanging hog-tied from the ceiling fan by a rope Fluttershy didn't know she had and an empty decanter. Soarin' let out a long sigh.

"Hey, 'Shy. How were the animals?"

"Eeep!"

Scootaloo cracked her neck as she dragged herself through the halls of the rehab center Kat was staying at. Jimmy, Sweetie and Applebloom were all chatting happily as if it were any other day. The damage to the shower had cost her almost two hundred bits, a rather common figure for hotel damages for her.

/Just once it would be nice to stay in a hotel and not break anything...and have a cloud bed.../ Scootaloo thought to herself. /Just one good stay is all I'm asking for. It doesn't seem like that much. Wait, that sound...is that.../

"Does anypony else hear a manticore mauling a monkey?" Sweetie Belle asked. The rest of the group nodded in agreement. The four ponies each lifted their ears in unison to track the sound's point of origin. After a short search, they found a storage closet. The sounds were louder now, and it was obvious that whatever was inside was enjoying an unnatural feast.

"Get behind me." Jimmy said, and the three mares in the group happily obliged. Sweetie Belle took the opportunity to give his flanks a once over.

"Sweets, how many times have I told you that I can feel you looking?" Jimmy asked. Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes.

"Shut up and open the door."

"Your wish is my command, Sweetie Belle." Jimmy said smugly before turning back to the door. He swallowed hard. "Just be careful what you wish for." Jimmy took a fighting stance as he threw the door open with his magic. As Jimmy prepared to bravely give his life to allow his friends to escape from the monkey mauling manticore in the closet, the scent of a deli hit his nostrils. A very good deli at that. When Jimmy looked down, he saw his sister with a sub sandwich shoved halfway into her mouth. She had frozen in her position as she took in the sight before her. After she was able to assess the situation, she shrugged and resumed shoving her sandwich down her throat. The four ponies standing outside the door scrunched their faces in disgust. Sure, Kat always left much to be desired with her table manners, but the sight before them was...mortifying. The amount of half eaten vegetables on the floor around Kat would be almost enough to make a sandwich that could satiate even the most powerful of appetites. Sweetie Belle was the first to regain her wits enough to speak.

"Kat? The buck are you doing in here?"

With a sound that greatly resembled a boulder striking the ground after falling from the top of a Manehatten skyscraper, Kat swallowed the rest of her sandwich.

"What's it look like I'm doing?" Kat asked sarcastically.

"It looks like you put a cherry bomb in a sandwich and ate what was left over." Scootaloo answered honestly. She wouldn't have been surprised in the slightest if that had actually happened.

"I ate the whole thing! Although the cherry bomb thing actually sounds kinda fun..." Kat brought a thoughtful hoof to her chin.

"Okay, before you actually put a cherry bomb in a sandwich, why are you in the closet?" Jimmy asked as he cast a spell on Kat to search her. He had initially created the spell to check her for drugs that she might be hiding, but the prospect of her being in possession of a cherry bomb scared him just as much.

"And where in th' hay is Shepard?" Applebloom asked. It wasn't until Applebloom brought him up that Jimmy, Sweetie and Scootaloo realized that Shepard wasn't present at the moment. They all gave Kitty a look that said "If you two still haven't hooked up yet, we're going to have to smack you."

Kitty rolled her eyes and gave them a look that said "He's my best friend, alright? That would be weird."

"So that means ya won't mind if Ah take him fer a roll in the hay, right?" Applebloom verbally asked with a smug grin. Kitty bit her lip. She decided not to answer that question. She turned to Sweetie Belle just in time to receive a hoof to her face.

"Augh! What in the sphincter hay was that for, Sweets?!"

"I just informed you that if you hadn't hooked up with Shepard I was going to smack you. For that matter, so did you two." Sweetie Belle said as she gestured to Jimmy and Scootaloo. They shrugged and each took a turn smacking Kitty. Kitty groaned as she recovered.

"I hate you guys."

"We love you too, Kat." Jimmy responded. "But seriously, what are you doing in the closet?"

Kitty sighed.

"They won't let me have real food in this place! I just can't eat the crap they serve here! You guys gotta get me out of here! I promise I'll never even look at a bottle of pills again! I can't do this! It's awful here! They made me do that stupid "trust fall" thing! Just because I don't want to try to catch a pony fatter than six of me doesn't mean I deserved to be stuck on cleaning duty all day today! Although it did give me this wonderful closet to eat the subs that Shepard sneaks in here."

"Wait, you're telling me that they had you do a trust fall and you dropped the pony you were supposed to catch?" Scootaloo asked while raising a quizzical eyebrow. Kitty gave an indignant huff.

"It's their own fault! I told them ahead of time that his fat ass was on his own! But they thought I would try to catch him anyway so they still stuck me under him!"

"So, you're saying you told them ahead of time how you would respond, and they ignored you?" Jimmy asked, also with a quizzical eyebrow raised.

"Yup." Kitty responded flatly. The rest of the group shrugged.

"Yeah, it really is their own fault then." Scootaloo said.

"Kat's nothing if not honest." Jimmy noted.

"Yeah, what ya see is what ya get with 'er." Applebloom agreed.

"As emotionally deep as a rain puddle." Sweetie added.

"I'm not sure if you guys are trying to support me or insult me...I'm going to go with insult because that's what a good friend would do in any normal circumstance." Kitty finished.

"Of course we're insulting you! What are friends for, Kat?" Sweetie Belle responded with an ear to ear grin.

"Good point, Sweets." Kat responded. She perked an ear as the sound of hoofsteps reached the group. A warm smile adorned her face as Shepard stepped into view: A smile that everypony around took notice of before she shook it off. Shepard stopped dead in his tracks when he saw his four friends standing between himself and Kitty. In unison, all four of them turned around and gave Shepard an ear to ear grin. They then turned around and gave the same grin to Kitty.

"I know that smile..." Sweetie started. "It's that same stupid smile that Scoot gets whenever she sees Lightning. Could it be that you just lied to us, Kat?"

"NO! I didn't lie!" Kitty responded far more defensively than was necessary.

"You're in love with Shepard!" Sweetie squealed, eliciting a hot blush from Kitty and a laugh from Shepard.

"No I'm not!" Kitty responded just as defensively as before.

"That's not what you said yesterday, Kat." Shepard noted with a condescending stare.

"SHEPARD!" Kitty yelled, her face as red as it had ever been.

"It's not like we can hide it anymore, Kat." Shepard explained. Shepard turned to the rest of the group. "Kat and I are together. We hooked up on the train ride over here. This one was just hoping you guys wouldn't find out." Shepard gestured to Kitty as he gave his explanation. He then walked over to Kitty and planted a kiss on her horn as he sat next to her. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle squealed with delight. Jimmy rested a hoof on Kitty's shoulder. Applebloom, although happy for her friend, sighed and lowered her head.

"It's nothing to be ashamed of, Kitty. It just means you're growing up." Jimmy explained. Kitty brushed his hoof away.

"Easy for you to say! You're not the one who has a reputation for flying solo!" Kitty snapped back. Shepard rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Kat, the only ponies who see you with that reputation are ponies looking for a drunk mare to take for a ride just so they can get some money and your dignity. Believe me, you're better off this way."

Kitty sighed as she rested her head on Shepard's shoulder.

"You're a pain, you know that?" Kitty stated her question more than she asked.

"And you need a pain to work some maturity into you." Shepard teased, to which Kitty knocked his head against the wall with her magic.

"While that's all well and good, is there any reason we're still talkin' in a closet?" Applebloom asked. It was just then that it had registered with the rest of the group that they never had left the storage closet where Kitty had been annihilating her sandwich.

"Umm, because the monsters won't find us in the closet?" Kitty suggested, eliciting a facehoof from everypony in the group.

"Kat, what are you talking about?" Jimmy asked with an explosive sigh. "I thought you accepted the fact that monsters only live in the Everfree by now."

"I'm not talking about real monsters, jackass! I'm talking about the ponies who work here! They're all fat, ugly, and they enforce rules! It's horrible! Not to mention that they actually respect Prince Blueblood!"

Everypony raised their eyebrows at that statement.

"What in the hay does Prince Blueblood have to do with anything?" Scootaloo asked. Kitty rolled her eyes.

"Didn't you see the obnoxious pictures of him at the entrance? He funds this place so he looks somewhat respectable! And he makes a weekly trip so he can tell us all how lucky we are to have ponies like him in the world! Ugh, he pisses me off so much that I wrote a song about him!" Kitty had to force herself not to shout that particular rant, and she didn't do a great job of keeping quiet. While the four ponies who had come to visit dragged their hooves down their faces, Shepard simply nodded in agreement.

"He /is/ horrible. We got here just in time to watch him do his 'Weekly Checkup'. It was all I could do to avoid shoving a bass down his throat. And the song Kat wrote is also pretty awesome. And we better write it as soon as Kat gets out of here."

"Can't you just bust me out of here?!" Kitty pleaded. "I promise, I'll throw away every bottle of pills that I have! No, I'll /burn/ them all! Please, just let me out of here! I'm begging you, get me out of this place!" Kitty dropped to her knees as she pleaded. Scootaloo, Jimmy, Sweetie, and Applebloom all looked at Shepard. Shepard sighed and shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Kat. But you're just not ready to go home yet. You've been having withdrawals ever since you came here. The nurses say-"

"To Discord with the bucking nurses!" Kitty shouted back. "What in the hay do /they/ know about drug problems! I don't have a problem, I never did! It's the rest of these crazy ponies here have-"

"Kat, the last time we had this conversation was right after you DIED!" Jimmy shouted back. Kitty immediately shrunk under Jimmy's words. She didn't have an argument for that. Jimmy sighed and rested his hoof on her shoulder.

"Kat, we just want to get you the help you need." Jimmy lifted his sister's chin with his hoof. "Help that even /you/ know you need."

Kitty sighed. She gave her brother a brief hug and pulled away. She couldn't bring herself to look him in the eye at the moment.

"You're right...I'm sorry, Jimmy."

Jimmy smiled down at his sister.

"It's alright, Kat. You know I love you. We all do."

Kitty looked up at each of her friends. An ear to ear grin crossed her features.

"Yeah, I love you guys too. After I get out of here, we're gonna go to the nearest bar and get completely wasted, just like always! Even Scoot can join in! Alright?"

Everypony shrugged.

"Works for me." Jimmy responded.

"I can handle that." Sweetie Belle added.

"I think I can let loose for once." Scootaloo said with a nod.

"As long as we have drunk sex I'm game." Shepard added with a wink.

"Ah better be able to have some cider while we're out. Jus' wouldn't be th' same without apple somethin'." Applebloom finished.

"It's settled then! As soon a I'm outta rehab, we're gonna celebrate with booze! Awww yeah!" Kat exclaimed while throwing her hooves into the air.

Scootaloo facehoofed.

/I have the most bucked up friends ever.../ she thought to herself.


	20. Chapter 20

Spitfire landed powerfully on the front porch of the Dash home, sending tufts of cloud cascading in all directions around her. Steel and Rainbow followed close behind, although their landings were far more tentative than the enraged mare that led the way. Spitfire punched the door open and strutted inside. Rainbow and Steel winced, looked at each other with one eye, swallowed, and slowly made their way into the home. Spitfire shoved Rainbow aside and stared Steel down. Steel swallowed hard.

"Umm..I think I'll save you the trouble of speech and just go to my room now. Uh, see you later, Mom." With that, Steel shot off to his room. Spitfire hadn't intended on making things that easy for him, but she was too stunned to move. She couldn't think straight. With wide eyes and mouth agape, she turned to face Rainbow, who bore a similar expression.

"Did...did he just call me...Mom?"

"Did I just call her Mom?!" Steel asked himself in shock. "But, that makes no sense! She's not my mom! I don't think...I mean, she has taken care of me for years, but...Ugh, what's going on with me!"

Steel continued to stew as he paced around his room. He was confused, and he /hated/ being confused. He just wanted to be able to relax, to stop his mind from going haywire for just a little while. He was restless, his heart was beating at twice it's normal rhythm. He needed to leave, he needed to fly, he needed to clear his thoughts.

Steel let out an audible sigh as he flopped onto his bed.

"Autumn always gives me a clear head." He said to himself. He closed his eyes and let her face fill his thoughts. Her gentle smile, coaxing him out of his restless state. He smiled as exhaustion took over. He had gotten up far too early for his liking that morning, and he happily allowed sleep to overtake him.

Applebloom yawned for roughly the thousandth time that day as she trudged through the streets of Canterlot with her friends. The rehab center had been kind enough to allow Kitty a day's leave to be with her friends, and she refused to spend it inside the walls of the facility. That meant a day in the city.

As a rule, ponies that weren't residents of Canterlot spent all their time in the magnificent city marveling at every sight it had to offer, but Scootaloo and her friends had played enough shows there that none of them really cared anymore. Canterlot was just another city for them, and that was fine. Of course, every city bore the same problem for famous ponies such as themselves.

"OHMYGOSH! IT'S IRON PONY!"

"SCOOT, CAN I HAVE YOUR AUTOGRAPH?!"

"MARRY ME, JIMMY!"

The six young ponies sighed as they got mobbed at every turn by more fans. Signing autographs was fun, but it grew very tiresome, very fast. And being the one behind the scenes, Applebloom felt rather left out of the occasion. She shrugged it off though. She was happy not to have the fame. She was a simple farmpony at heart, after all. But this time, something was different about the fan mob. An occurrence of which there was no precedence for the simple mare.

"Your name's Applebloom, right?"

Applebloom stopped when she heard the voice behind her. She turned around and had to fight to keep her jaw up at the sight before her: The sight of the most attractive earth pony stallion she had ever laid eyes on. His beige coat was stained with grease and stood out against the brightly colored backdrop the city offered, and his deep brown mane fell flat against his head and neck, despite the gentle summer breeze that made her own mane dance in the sunlight. She blinked a couple of times to get herself back under control.

"Uhh, yeah, it is. What's yer name?"

"Name's Fixer. I must say, I'm very impressed with the work you do for Iron Pony's shows. I've been to every one that they've performed in Canterlot." Fixer extended a hoof to Applebloom. "It's truly an honor to meet you."

Applebloom did everything she could to hide her blush, but she failed miserably. She kept her eyes locked on the cobblestone below her as she accepted his hoof and shook.

"It's a pleasure makin' yer acquaintance." Applebloom mumbled. She could feel a fire igniting on her cheeks as she shook his hoof. As she lowered her hoof to the ground, she sighed. Ponies didn't walk up to her and strike up conversation because they wanted to talk to her. Ponies walked up to her and struck up conversation because they wanted something from her. She forced herself to regain control of her emotions. She was going to be polite and respectable, and she was going to politely and respectable refuse whatever he wanted from her.

"Well, now that the greetins' are done, what can Ah do ya for?" Applebloom asked cautiously. Fixer gave Applebloom an ear to ear grin.

"Getting right to the point, I see. I've always liked that in a mare."

Applebloom blushed hotly at his comment. She looked away and collected herself before meeting his gaze again. There was something about this stallion that Applebloom couldn't place. A sparkle in his brown eyes that allowed Applebloom to feel at ease with him. She nodded for him to continue. Fixer grinned wider and obliged.

"Well, I saw your article in Musician's Weekly. How you were looking for somepony more experienced to work with the stage set at your friend's shows. It must suck having to fire somepony because he can't tell the difference between a Quarter Inch and an XLR, especially when you only use cables to connect one speaker to another."

Applebloom groaned at the memory. Good ponies for the job of setting up a stage were hard to come by, so Applebloom had resorted to hiring anypony who could follow instructions. That wasn't working in her favor.

"Th' idiot couldn't even tell th' difference between a sub and a monitor wedge. He even plugged Shepard's bass int'a th' acoustic channel! If Ah hadn't caught that before the show, Shepard would'a blown the speaker on his first note! Not ta mention he used a cable ta hook up th' thing when th' band went wireless four years ago!"

Fixer threw his head back and laughed.

"Ponies just don't know the ins and outs of musical technology now, you know? It's nice to finally meet a mare who knows what she's doing backstage. Which brings me to my purpose in having this conversation." Fixer stopped there with an ear to ear grin. Applebloom raised an eyebrow at him.

"And Ah assume yer gonna tell me what that purpose is?" Applebloom stated more than asked. Fixer laughed.

"Right, I probably should do that. Anyway, I want to work for Iron Pony. More specifically, I want to work directly with you."

Applebloom raised an eyebrow and gave a smug grin. She turned back to her friends who had managed to shake the horde of adoring fans. They were now eying Applebloom and her new friend with ear-to-ear grins.

"Where y'all headed? Ah'll meet ya there."

"We're gonna hit the university and see what's up with Twi. Mom asked me to do that while I was here." Scootaloo called back.

"Seriously Scoot? You're twenty five and you're still running errands for your parents?" Sweetie asked condescendingly.

"Pretty much." Scootaloo answered nonchalantly. Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes.

"If your parents weren't so awesome, I would never stop making fun of you for this. Well, let's go interrupt class!" Sweetie called to the group. That elicited a chorus of excited whoops from the band as they trotted off. Applebloom waved her friends off and turned back to Fixer.

"Well, Fixer. Ya want ta work for me, do ya?" Applebloom asked.

"Well, I was thinking I could work /with/ you, not /for/ you." Fixer answered. his voice unsure.

"Until ya prove that yer up to snuff, yer workin' /for/ me." Applebloom stated. If there was one thing that everypony knew about Applebloom, it was that she knew how to put her hoof down. When it came to her work with Iron Pony, she had an iron hoof. A pun that she happily used every chance she got. Fixer grinned.

"Believe me, I'll prove myself three times over with the next show you do."

Now it was Applebloom's turn to grin.

"Good. 'Cause their next show is today."

Twilight had to fight to avoid spewing her tea.

"Are you serious?! You want ME to be the headmaster of YOUR school?!" Twilight half yelled to Princess Celestia. The Princess brought a hoof to her mouth as she chuckled.

"Why, yes indeed Twilight. I can't think of anypony I'd rather see in that position." Celestia responded warmly. "If I could do it myself, I would, but as it stands it's nigh impossible to even involve myself with the affairs of my school while running the country. So, what do you say?"

Twilight frowned. The proposition was a dream come true for any unicorn in her position. A dream come true for /her./ She had wanted that job for years, despite her position at the University. She had been waiting for the Princess to offer her that job ever since she started at the university. The Princess knew this of course, however it would have been horribly wrong of her to fire the pony that had held the position for so many years so Twilight could have it. Now that the old headmaster retired, the position was open, and the Princess wanted Twilight to know about the opening before anypony else.

Yet, there Twilight was, denying the offer.

"I'm sorry, Princess, but I can't accept the position."

Now it was Celestia's turn to fight to keep her tea in her mouth.

"I'm sorry, did I hear you correctly?" Celestia asked.

Twilight sighed heavily.

"Yes, yes you did. I've actually been putting off telling you this, but I've decided to retire from the University this year. In fact, the Board of Education already replaced me. I'm just finishing this last semester and then I'm going to retire to Ponyville once and for all." Twilight explained. Celestia was shocked, and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't disappointed.

"May I ask why that is, Twilight?" Celestia asked. Twilight sighed and lowered her head.

"It's Mac. We're happy as ever when we're together, but my being here in Canterlot for so much of the year puts a serious strain on our relationship. I love my job, but I love my husband more."

Celestia smiled warmly.

"Well, I'm happy you came to that decision, Twilight. You need to do what makes you happy."

"Yeah, well, there's also...something else..." Twilight stammered with a blush. Celestia cocked an eyebrow from behind her teacup.

"Oh? And what might that be?" Celestia asked. Twilight gave a warm, motherly smile as she looked down at her stomach. Immediately the Princess understood, but she still wanted to hear Twilight say it.

"Mac and I are having a foal. I found out about a month after the semester started. She should be about three months along now."

Celestia smiled warmly at Twilight. After a moment in thought, she chuckled, eliciting a strange look from Twilight.

"What's so funny, Princess?" Twilight asked curiously.

"Well, as long as I've known you, I've looked at you almost like a daughter. Now that you're having a foal, I guess that makes me Granny Celestia." The Princess said with a chuckle. Twilight failed to see the humor in it, but she chuckled for her mentor's sake. A look at the clock in Celestia's personal quarters forced Twilight's eyes wide open.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry, Princess, but I have to go! I have to be to class in two minutes! Oh my gosh, I'm going to be late!"

Celestia raised an eyebrow.

"Can't you just teleport to class?" Celestia asked.

"Not with the foal! If I teleport I could kill her!"

"Ahh...yes, that would be unfortunate." Celestia thought for a moment before smiling from ear to ear. She lowered herself to the floor and spread her wings. Twilight raised an eyebrow.

"Well, Twilight? Are you getting on?" Celestia asked. Twilight frowned.

"I can walk, Princess. You know that."

"Not if you want to be to the University in time. Come on, I haven't had a good flight in ages."

Twilight sighed. The Princess had a point. Begrudgingly, Twilight climbed onto her mentor's back. Celestia walked to the window and flew out towards the University.

- Sweetie Belle stepped through the door to Twilight's classroom. Every student in the room immediately stopped their usual chatting and took in the sight of the unkempt mare standing before them. The rest of the band quickly followed suit behind Sweetie Belle, and they stood in the middle of the room with blank faces. While normally the five ponies were incredibly comfortable being the center of other ponies' attention, the ponies that usually watched them had paid for a ticket to get in. And Sweetie Belle usually didn't have a bag of bits and a letter in her mouth. Without a word, and with all eyes upon her, Sweetie Belle slowly made her way to Twilight's desk, set down the bits and the letter, and slowly made her way back to her friends.

"Umm..." Sweetie began.

"Well, we did what we came here for...I say we bail." Kitty offered. With no better plan, the five ponies turned and left without another word.

"I'm so sorry I'm late, class!" Twilight exclaimed as she barreled into her classroom. "I just got caught up talking to the Princess and...what is this?" She asked as she saw the bits and the letter on her desk. She opened the letter with her magic and immediately brought a hoof to her face.

/Twilight,

We're probably going to end up in jail tonight. Here's a bag of bits for you to bring to the guard station to post bail.

Sincerely,

Scootaloo, Sweets, Applebloom, Kat, Jimmy, Shepard./

Twilight groaned after reading the note.

"You have GOT to be kidding me..."

"You guys are doing a surprise show in the middle of Canterlot tonight?! You do know you're going to get arrested for this, right?!" Fixer's jaw was on the ground. He was too stunned to say anything else.

"Yup." Applebloom responded. "We're countin' on it, actually. Some publicity stunt the band wants ta do. Now, ya gonna help or not? We got 'a lotta work ahead a us if we're gonna make this happen."

"Where are you even going to set it up? There's no way you'll be able to get all that equipment in place without getting spotted!"

Applebloom grinned and gestured her head towards a tall spire off in the distance. A spire on Canterlot castle. Fixer's jaw dropped.

"How are you gonna pull THAT off?!" Fixer half yelled his question. Applebloom snorted a laugh.

"Twilight made th' mistake 'a teachin' Sweets a cloakin' spell. All th' gear's already up there. All we gotta do is hook it all up and let Iron Pony rock Canterlot." As she finished her sentence, a black chariot landed next to her, the rest of Iron Pony already inside. The words "Band Wagon" were sloppily painted on the side, just under the Iron Pony logo.

"Come on, Applebloom! Quit playing kissy face with your new coltfriend and jump on the Band Wagon!" Scootaloo called out. Applebloom grinned, while Fixer failed to suppress a hot blush.

"Actually Scootaloo, this one's comin' with! He's got an audition today!" Applebloom exclaimed as she climbed onto the chariot. She turned and raised an eyebrow at Fixer.

"Ya comin', Fixer?" She asked. Fixer picked his jaw up off the pavement and grinned.

"You bet I am." With that, Fixer hopped aboard the chariot. The horns of each of the four unicorns flared, and the chariot, it's passengers and drivers all disappeared from sight.

"I thought you said that spell was supposed to make us invisible. I can see all of you just fine. And everything else around me." Fixer said with a raised eyebrow. Applebloom laughed.

"We ARE invisible, Fixer. The spell lets us see everything and everypony else the unicorns who cast it used it on, but nopony else can see us." Applebloom explained. Fixer sighed.

"Magic is weird. I like technology better."

"You think magic is weird?!" Kitty asked. "I think it's weird that you earth ponies and pegasi can live without it!"

"It's easy." Fixer said. "You just eat, drink, and have magically enchanted talons to help with the rest."

"Didn't ya just say that magic is weird?" Applebloom asked. "Besides, only candy-flank Canterlot earth ponies use talons fer every day life."

"Yeah!" Scootaloo agreed. "We only use talons to play our instruments!"

Fixer was stunned. How did an earth pony get through everyday life /without/ the assistance of talons? It was just an absurd thought!

"How do you-"

"Ah grew up on a farm. We never could afford them fancy talon things. Ah just got through life without 'em." Applebloom explained.

Fixer was about to respond when Sweetie Belle got to her hooves.

"Enough reminiscing, everypony! Time to set up!" The chariot came to a stop just above "stagelet" that was already built on the side of the spire. The band needed a flat area to play from, and given that the spires of Canterlot Castle didn't exactly condone standing, a series of small stages had been built under the cover of invisibility to allow the band a surface to play from. They were just large enough to stand on, but just small enough that the crowd below would still be able to see the band members. Fixer was stunned.

"How long have you been preparing for this?" He asked Applebloom. Applebloom shrugged.

"Three, four days? Somethin' like that. Doesn't matter, we got work ta do. Go and get those monitors set up. Ah'll get ta work with the speakers fer the audience." Applebloom ordered. Fixer grinned and saluted.

"Aye Aye, Ma'am."

"Is everything ready?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Yeah, Ah just got ta turn it on." Applebloom responded.

"What about the lights?" Kitty asked.

"We don't have any lights." Applebloom responded. Kitty's jaw dropped.

"What in the hay are we playing a show without lights for?!" She demanded.

"The lights would be too heavy for the stages. Stages would break and fall, and so would we. And it's a long way down." Applebloom said as she looked over her shoulder at the ground-Ground that was three hundred feet below her.

"That seems like an acceptable answer." Kitty responded with a nervous glance down. She took a couple steps toward the middle of her stage.

"Dude...We're totally going to get arrested for this..." Jimmy began. "I am STOKED! Applebloom! Start the show!"

Applebloom grinned.

"Iron Pony, Live in Canterlot, in 3, 2, 1." Applebloom paused as she flipped the switch to turn on the speakers. The sound of bells watch?v=B1Bi1c9LmhU&feature=relmfu began to flow from the still hidden speakers.

"Go." Applebloom said with a grin as a cello accompanied the bells. Ponies on the street below began to turn their heads as they began to hear the music. A steady murmuring could be heard from the streets below from ponies curious as to what was causing the sounds that were entering their ears. A few ponies seemed to recognize what they were hearing, but certainly didn't believe their ears.

"Those are some powerful speakers." Fixer noted. Applebloom grinned.

"Y'all have no idea. Those things could shatter glass from across town if Ah turned 'em up high enough."

Fixer let out an ear to ear grin.

"This should be a fun afternoon."

"Yes. Yes it should." Applebloom responded, her grin intensifying.

As the band hit the intro, the unicorns lifted the invisibility spell. Screams of shock and terror rang out from below. Scootaloo spread her wings and flew just in front of the stage for her part. She laughed as some of the younger ponies in the crowd recognized her. She nodded to a few fans as she swooped low over the crowd of shocked ponies, some from fear, others from excitement.

"NIGHTMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARE!" Sweetie Belle sang as Scootaloo flew back down to the stage.

"Now your nightmare comes to life.." Kat echoed.

"Dragged you down below! Down to Discord's Show! To be his guest forever!" Sweetie began.

"PIECE OF MIND IS LESS THAN NEVER!" Kat responded.

"I hate to twist your mind! Celestia ain't on your side! An old acquaintance severed!"

"BURN THE WORLD YOUR LAST ENDEAVOR!"

"Flesh is burning you can smell it in the air 'cause mares like you have such an easy soul to steal! So stand in line while they ink numbers in your head you're now a slave until the end of time!"

"NOTHING STOPS THE MADNESS TURNING! HAUNTING, YEARNING, PULL THE TRIGGER!"

"You should've known, the price of evil! And it hurts to know that you belong here, yeah! Ooooooooooh!"

"IT'S YOUR BUCKIN' NIGHTMARE!" The whole bang sang in response.

In the throne room, Celestia was stunned. She stared out the window at the spectacle taking place on the spires of her own castle.

"Luna...Do you see this?" She asked. "Luna? Luna, are you listening?"

Luna was not listening. Luna was bobbing her head in rhythm with the band that was playing. It appeared she was enjoying herself greatly, and didn't seem to want the surprise show to end. Celestia sighed and brought her hoof to her face.

"Luna, we don't have the luxury of taking time to enjoy this."

"Admit it, you like it too, 'Tia."

"I don't have to admit to /anything/, Luna. All I have to admit to is that a rock band has just commandeered a spire of my castle to put on a surprise performance and I NEVER SAW THEM SET IT UP!"

"You have to give them credit for that." Luna responded. Celestia sighed. She /was/ awfully impressed that the ponies had managed to set that up right under her one nose. Unfortunately, it had to go.

"Guards, please ensure that the situation in the spire is taken care of." Celestia said with a sigh.

"Aaaaaaaaaaw! They're just getting to the solo!" Luna whined."

Celestia sighed again.

"I swear, if it's who I think it is-"

"It is." Luna said. "This album was just released two months ago! I bought it as soon as it hit the shelves!"

Celestia, again, allowed a sigh to escape her lips.

"Luna...I swear..."

"Just because I took well to metal after my banishment doesn't mean I'm trapped in my youth, 'Tia! I'm just embracing the culture of the world today!" A wry smile past Luna's features. "If you want to be a proper leader you'll let them play so you can better learn about today's popular culture."

"Nice try." Celestia said with yet another sigh. "Guards, just arrest them. They'll get bail by tomorrow I'm sure."

Despite their best efforts, Iron Pony was eventually forced to end the show. Scootaloo spent her entire escape attempt shredding a solo for no purpose beyond taunting the guards flying after her. Jimmy was pulled away from his drum kit while still making a vain attempt to play. He managed to wrestle free of the guards and get back to his kit for a four and a half second long drum roll before the guards descended on him again and pulled him away. He kicked his snare as he was dragged off of his drum throne and it fell to the street below. A group of fans quickly moved in to grab the pieces for souvenirs. Sweetie Belle managed to use her natural beauty to entice a guard into letting her go, but her victory was short lived. Her Mohawk was just not an enticing hairstyle to the guard, and he quickly regained his senses and had her bound. Shepard was an oddity among the band members in that he went quietly. Not without striking a deal, of course. He was guaranteed to get his bass back without a scratch if he didn't resist arrest. Kitty, however, was a different story. As soon as the guards descended on the band, she fell to her knees on her stage, screaming about voices in her head. When a guard tried to touch her, she shrieked and and curled into a ball. Immediately afterward, she began rocking back in forth, cryptic warnings flowing from her mouth. The guard sent to apprehend her had no idea what to do, so he just slapped a magic inhibitor on her horn and tossed her into the chariot with the rest of the band members. Applebloom and Fixer, like Shepard, went quietly. Applebloom did request that all the equipment be returned to her, and one of the guards said he'd see what he could do.

"Dude..." Jimmy started. "Our next tour is destined to sell out every show after this."

"So much bad publicity..." Sweetie responded. "The younger ponies are going to LOVE it!"

"And we get more "Spent a night in jail" stories to tell when we get back to Ponyville!" Scootaloo chimed in. Everypony in the chariot brought their hooves together in a mighty clop. After the groupwide brohoof, Applebloom extended a hoof to Fixer.

"Ya sure do know what yer doin' with the stage. Ah could use a pony like you. And ya willingly get yerself arrested your first night on th' job. That's rare among staff now." She said. Fixer grinned and shook her hoof.

"What are yo trying to say?" He asked. Applebloom smirked.

"Ah'm sayin' welcome to th' family."


	21. Chapter 21

Spitfire sighed as she stood in the hallway of the hotel. Behind the door in front of her, she would find the two ponies that brought her into this world. The two ponies that raised her, molded her into who she was at that moment. The two ponies that abandoned her because she accepted herself for who she was. Abandoned her because she refused to hide it from the world any longer.

Two ponies who she now, all of a sudden, lacked the courage to face. She wasn't just nervous, she was /terrified/. Terrified of what they would think, terrified of what they would say. Terrified that this particular relationship was beyond restoration.

So terrified that she couldn't lift her hoof to knock on the door. She considered just leaving. Walking away and never looking back. It would be easier. Perhaps she was better off without them in her life. Perhaps...

"No." Spitfire told herself. She had lost too much time with them. Her parents. Despite what they did, despite how they abandoned her, she still loved them. And she missed them more than she could describe with words. She was going to restore her relationship with her parents, and she would do it right then, and right there. She steeled herself as she forced her hoof to the door. She gave the door two slow raps before putting her hoof back down. The sound of hoofsteps could be heard from inside. After a few seconds, the door slowly pulled open, revealing Spitfire's mother, an expression of pure disbelief adorning her face. Spitfire sighed.

"Hey, Mom. May...May I come in?"

Firefly just stared at her. The older mare rubbed her eyes in disbelief, and just to be sure she wasn't imagining anything, she reached out and touched Spitfire's cheek. Spitfire clasped her mother's hoof in her own. Spitfire sighed and gently pushed her mother's hoof away. She needed to remain distant, at least for a moment, if she was going to be able to say what she needed to say to her parents.

"Spitfire...I...I thought you...had made up your mind. I thought...I thought you wanted us gone." Firefly threw her hooves around Spitfire's neck and rested her head on her daughter's shoulder. To her dismay, Spitfire didn't return the favor. Firefly pulled away and locked her eyes with her daughter's. Spitfire's face seemed chiseled in stone.

"I missed you too, Mom, but we have a bit of talking to do before we start hugging each other," Spitfire responded curtly. Her voice was more aggressive than she intended it to be, and she winced after she finished speaking. Firefly sighed, but she understood. She stepped aside and ushered Spitfire inside. Spitfire nodded and stepped through the door. Ebony had already set down four cushions for the conversation he was about to have with his daughter. When he looked up, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Spitfire, I thought we..."

"If you don't mind, I'd like to start this conversation, Dad." Spitfire interjected. Ebony was taken aback, but he nodded. Proud though he was, he knew he was going to have to step down from the position of authority he liked to have if he was ever going to reconcile with his daughter.

Spitfire sat down on one of the cushions, and her parents followed suit. Spitfire noticed the empty cushion next to her.

"For Rainbow, I assume?" She noted. Firefly nodded.

"Yes...We were...hoping to talk to both of you." Firefly had to force her words out. She was overwhelmed with guilt at the mere sight of her daughter. The daughter she had willingly cast aside for no reason other than her sexual preference. She forced back her tears. Now was not the time for them. She looked to her husband and noticed he harbored a similar reaction to her own.

"Where is...your wife?" Ebony asked, shifting uncomfortably as he did so.

"She's at home, watching our son," Spitfire replied. Her words were curt, face still expressionless. Her parent's eyes opened wide, and their jaws fell to the floor.

"You...have a...son?" Ebony asked in disbelief. Spitfire nodded.

"A daughter as well, but she moved out a while ago. They're actually brother and sister, although we adopted them years apart from each other."

Ebony and Firefly's eyes began to water as blatantly unconcealed emotions conflicted within them. Joy, sorrow, pride, every emotion their daughter could have brought them over the last fifteen years. They had missed so much time with their daughter, all because of...bigotry wasn't even the right word. No, it wasn't bigotry. They could have looked past that for their own daughter.

They let their pride in themselves take hold of them. They weren't afraid to accept homosexuality, they were afraid of how the world would see them if they changed their views for one pony, even if that pony was their own daughter.

"How is...your relationship with your children?" Firefly asked hesitantly. She didn't understand why the prospect of her daughter having children was so hard for her to take, but she felt a lump forming in her throat that almost stopped her from speaking when she brought them up.

"Things are great with our daughter." Spitfire stated quickly. "She's actually getting married soon. Good colt, took him forever to finally propose though." Spitfire chuckled to herself. "Gave up his career for her. She couldn't have found a better catch if she tried."

Those last words struck home with Ebony and Firefly, and it was all they could do to hold back from sobbing. They were hearing about a colt who gave up his career, his livelihood to be with a mare, and they couldn't even change their ways to keep their daughter. Tears flowed freely from Firefly's eyes, while Ebony simply stared off into space, unable to think straight anymore.

"We're having a little bit of trouble with our son, though. He's got some serious father-figure issues that needed sorting out years ago. We tried sending him to therapists, but he never gave any of them a chance," Spitfire continued as if oblivious to her parent's emotional states. However, as much as she wanted to be cold at the moment, seeing her mother crying ripped her heart out in a most violent fashion. It was all Spitfire could do to prevent herself from getting up and hugging the elder mare.

"Spitfire..." Firefly forced through sobs. "We're so...so sor...sorry..."

Spitfire's stone mask immediately fell from her face. A blend of sorrow, rage, loneliness and burning hatred passed her features as she got back to her hooves. She turned around, unable to face her mother's sobbing form any longer.

"You two abandoned me." Spitfire began, her voice shaking. "You tossed me aside without a second thought." Spitfire paused to let that sink in. She felt incredibly cruel, but she needed to say those words. "You kicked me out of your lives because I'm not the same as YOU are!" Spitfire shouted as she spun around, tears now flowing freely from her own eyes as well. "Do you have any idea how many times I've needed you!? How hard it's been to raise two mistreated foals without your help!?" She fell back to her haunches as all of the anger she had just poured out faded into sorrow, her voice falling to a whisper. "Do you know how much I've missed you?"

"Spitfire..." Ebony stood and and slowly made his way to his daughter. For the first time in more than fifteen years, he sat next to her and wrapped a wing around her back. As soon as he attempted the comforting gesture, Spitfire shot to her hooves. Every muscle in her body was tensed, as if she was preparing for a fight. Spitfire closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and let her body relax.

"I'm sorry, Dad...I just..." Spitfire didn't have time to finish her sentence. Both her mother and father descended on her, wrapping her in a group hug that she couldn't escape from if she wanted to. Spitfire struggled against it for a moment, but it wasn't long before she gave in and relaxed in the warmth of her parents' embrace. A warmth she hadn't felt in fifteen years. Tears of pure joy flowed freely from her eyes as she wrapped her forelegs around her father's neck.

"We're so sorry, Spitfire." Firefly choked out. "We promise never to leave you again."

Spitfire stepped back and wiped her eyes with a hoof. She smiled at her parents.

"Mom...Dad...I love you. I spent so much time over the last fifteen years trying to hate you...Trying to wish you had never existed...But I never could. I always just wanted you back." Spitfire looked away, still unsure whether or not she should be trusting her parents yet. "Why did you abandon me? Was I not important enough to you? Did...did you love me at all? Did you /ever/ love me?"

Those last words struck a chord with Firefly and Ebony that Spitfire never expected. The two elder ponies stepped back, unable to think clearly after that blow.

"I...We...Of course we loved you, Spitfire!" Firefly choked out. "We-We always did! We never stopped!"

"THEN WHERE IN THE HAY DID YOU GO?!" Spitfire screamed while taking an aggressive step forward. She caught herself, and again had to force herself not to break down in tears. "All this time, I...I /needed/ you. I needed your advice on so many things. My life hasn't...been easy...without you guys. I..." Spitfire couldn't finish her sentence before breaking down in tears yet again. Firefly and Ebony just stood and watched, unable to move. Every instinct in both of them screamed at them to go comfort their daughter, but what could they do? They were too terrified to move, terrified that they could only make things worse.

"I..." Ebony began, but stopped himself. What could he say? He knew he loved his daughter...he /thought/ he did, anyway. But he hadn't been a father to her the last fifteen years. Had he /ever/ been a father to her? So many age old conversations where he rejected her lifestyle, rejected who she was, all for what?

...

/I'm joining the REA with Soarin', Dad. You can't stop me.

You belong here, with us young lady. You won't last a week with the military.

I don't care what you say, Dad. I've made my decision, and I'm not changing my mind.

You'll be sorry you didn't listen.

...

I was asked to join the Wonderbolts! I can't believe it! Soarin' and I start our training tomorrow! I can't wait for you to watch us perform!

You're kidding, right? You want to waste away your life flying around in fancy circles? I've said it a thousand times, you belong here, with your family!

The only place I belong is the sky!

Don't worry, you'll fall from it soon enough.

...

Mom. Dad. Rainbow is my marefriend. We've been together for a few months now. I wanted you guys to meet her.

Get out.

Dad, please. We're-

I didn't ask for your input, I told you to leave. Now go./

...

Tears welled in Ebony's eyes as he finally realized just how horrible of a father he had really been. Those words were about more than just kicking her out. He had never supported any decision she had ever made. He had never been there to help her when she needed a father. He had never even thought her able to think for herself, and had spent his entire time "raising" her to get her to follow his lead blindly. If only /feeling/ love for his daughter meant something.

"Spitfire, it's too late for me to take back my mistakes." Ebony began. "I was never a good father to you. I'm...I'm sorry." Ebony inhaled deeply as Spitfire looked up at him. Ebony took a step closer to his daughter. "I can't take back my mistakes, but I can promise that I'll never make them again. Please, forgive an old stallion who was too stuck in his ways to realize his daughter lived more in her first twenty years of life than he did in all sixty of his."

Spitfire smiled as she stood and wrapped her forelegs around her father's neck. She had never told anypony how much she missed the feeling of his soft coat against her own.

"I...think I can do that...Dad."

"Don't put everything on your father, now." Firefly interjected. Spitfire turned to look her mother in the eyes. Unable to meet her daughter's gaze, Firefly looked away. "I...wasn't exactly a great mother either. I...I just wasn't ready for you. I was too young and old fashioned to raise a mare like you. I tried to raise a housewife, and what you became...You're so much more than I ever dreamed you could be. I'm...I'm so sorry, Spitfire."

Spitfire smiled as she pulled away from her father's embrace. She made her way to her mother and wrapped her in a gentle hug.

"It's all in the past now, Mom. I...I love you." Spitfire wiped tears from her eyes and looked around the room she was in. She frowned in distaste.

"You know, I think I've had enough of this hotel room. Come on, let's get you checked out and back to my house. You have a grandson to meet!"

Rainbow woke from her nap as a scroll magically materialized next to her. The sound of the magic didn't surprise her; After all, it /was/ noon on Wednesday, exactly when Twilight sent her "Weekly Update." Rainbow rolled off the couch groggily picked up the scroll in her mouth and walked to the kitchen. With practiced ease, she bit the ribbon that was wrapped around the scroll, tearing it from the seal. She grinned as the scroll fell open on the counter in front of her. Twilight always ensured to enchant scrolls sent to Rainbow and Spitfire so they would rest on clouds. Caring just enough to actually read the scroll and remember what it said, Rainbow's eyes began scanning the page.

/Dear Rainbow and Spitfire,

I don't have much to say this week, other than that I've finally decided to retire from teaching at the university. I'm finally going to be settling down in Ponyville with you all! Although, I may not have as much time to spend with you all as I used to. I'm pregnant now! From what I've read, motherhood takes a lot of time away from friends and hobbies. In fact according to _A Pregnant Mother's Guide To Life_, I will.../

Rainbow chuckled and skimmed the next portion of the letter.

"Not much to say, huh? You're quitting your job, having a foal, and talking about books, and not much to say?" Rainbow smirked. Granted, it was a short letter for Twilight. Rainbow usually had to prepare herself for a whole twenty minutes of reading when she got one of Twilight's letters. Unless she was reading the latest Daring Do novel, twenty minutes was enough reading to melt her brain for the next several hours. Fortunately, this letter looked like it would only take a couple of minutes to finish, and she was reaching the end as it was.

/Well, that's all I have this time! I can't wait to see you again!

Your Friend,

Twilight Sparkle.

P.S. I know you never pay attention to the news, but your daughter and her friends got themselves in jail again last night. And it's on the front page of every newspaper in Canterlot. They gave me money to bail them out, but it's going to be sitting in my apartment here until one of you comes and picks it up./

Rainbow's eyes went wide as she read the tag at the end. Slowly, her startled expression grew into an ear to ear grin.

"She got arrested in a way that got her on the front page of /every/ newspaper in Canterlot? Now /that/ is something I gotta see!"

Spitfire reached for her saddle bags to collect some bits for the hotel manager, but quickly realized that she didn't have any. She gave her father a sheepish grin, which was returned with a knowing smile.

"Spitfire, I wouldn't have let you pay for our stay anyway."

Ebony pulled a small bag of bits out of his saddle bags and dumped them on the counter. He quickly counted out enough bits to cover the stay and hoofed the bits to the hotel manager. Ebony exchanged a casual pleasantry with the stallion behind the counter, and the three reunited ponies made their way to the door. Just before they reached the door to the hotel, Spitfire's eyes caught the newspaper rack. Her eyes shot open and she galloped to the rack, picked up a paper and threw it open on the floor.

"Ma'am, that is going to be three bits." The manager said with an angry glare. Ebony sighed and tossed the bits to the manager.

"Spitfire, what's-"

Ebony's inquiry was cut short by Spitfire's raucous laughter as she fell to her back. Tears began to stream down her face.

"My, my daugher, and her, oh just read it, Dad!" Spitfire clutched her stomach as she began to roll around on the floor in a fit of laughter. Ebony raised an eyebrow, but he set the newspaper down on a nearby table and read the headline.

*ROCK BAND "IRON PONY" APPREHENDED FOR SURPRISE PERFORMANCE ON CANTERLOT CASTLE*

Ebony arched his eyebrow further.

"I don't get it." He said. He began to read the article. His eyes skimmed over the details, but one sentence caught his eye.

/Guitarist Scootaloo Dash simply said "This was the best b***in' prank we've ever pulled. I don't think we'll ever be able to top this one."/

Ebony's eyes shot open.

"Scootaloo...DASH!? You raised your daughter to be a rebellious prankster!?"

"Not to mention the mouth on her," Firefly added with distaste. "Spitfire, I know you were young when you became a mother, but I thought you'd raise a foal better than that."

Spitfire shot a soul piercing glare at her parents as she got back to her hooves. Immediately, the elder ponies realized their mistake.

"I don't mean to pick at old wounds, but /you two/ don't have the /right/ to tell /me/ how to raise a foal," Spitfire snarled as she flared her wings. "My daughter turned out to be a wonderful young mare, and her way of having fun doesn't change that." Ebony and Firefly recoiled in shock. As they took a step back, Spitfire took a deep, calming breath as she lowered her wings back to her sides. She lowered her head in shame.

"I...Sorry. I...shouldn't have lost my head."

Firefly placed a hoof on her daughters cheek.

"Spitfire, we spoke out of turn. We haven't even met your daughter, and we were already judging her. But..."

"If she's in Canterlot, does that mean you're going to have to fly over to Canterlot to bail her out?" Ebony finished.

"Nah, usually when they get arrested in Canterlot it's on purpose. I'm guessing they left Twi with some bits to bail them out with."

Firefly and Ebony shared a nervous glance.

"So, this is a somewhat...frequent occurrence then?" Ebony asked.

"Oh, yeah, all the time!" Spitfire responded dismissively as she turned towards the door of the hotel. "Usually it's for fun stuff like this, and when it's not it's because she and her bandmates got wasted and cause a 'Disturbance of the Peace" on some level or another around three in the morning." Spitfire continued trotting toward the door as if nothing she had said was out of the ordinary. She cast a glance over her shoulder at her parents. "You coming? I'd like you to meet my family. Well, most of it, anyway. I guess you'll meet Scoot in a day or so."

Firefly and Ebony shared yet another nervous glance.

"We haven't met her..." Firefly began.

"Let's not judge her." Ebony finished. His words seemed far more sure than his voice did.

Lightning groaned as he heard the doorbell ring. Today was the day he coached his first race, and he did /not/ want any distractions in his preparation. He left his half-packed saddle bags in the living room and made his way to the door. He pulled it open, and was somewhat surprised to see Rainbow standing in the doorway giving him an ear-to-ear grin.

"Uhh, hey Ma. What's going on?"

"Scoot and the band got arrested again! Check this out!"

Lightning groaned as Rainbow shoved a newspaper in his face. Lightning loved Scootaloo to death, but every time she found her way into a jail cell he was due for quite the lecture from his parents of the "Are you sure she's the right mare for you" variety. Lightning snatched the newspaper from Rainbow's hoof and looked it over. He didn't have to search very long-His fiance's troublemaking had found it's way to the front page. Immediately, Lightning's mental state went from "I'm going to have to have a /loooooooong/ talk with that filly" to "Oh my gosh that's the best thing in the world!"

"Pff..Pff...BAHAHAHAHAAAAA!" Lightning fell to the floor in hysterical laughter. "That...Oh, way to go Scoot!"

Rainbow quickly joined Lightning in rolling on the floor, both of them laughing uncontrollably. After both ponies had run out of breath, Lightning slowly got to his hooves.

"Now if only they invited us." He panted as he wiped a tear from his eye. "I haven't laughed that hard in ages, and I just learned about it from the newspaper!"

"Yeah, she should've!" Rainbow agreed. "Especially because she could wind up in prison for this!" Rainbow was about to break into laughter again before she realized what she said. Lightning's eyes went wide, and his mouth fell to the floor.

"You're...kidding...right?" Lightning asked hopefully. Rainbow just sat there, her own eyes wide with shock.

"I wish I was..."

"Buck..."

Scootaloo groaned as she was woken by the loud sound of hooves against concrete. She had passed out, what, two hours ago? It was /waaaaay/ too early for her to be woken up. She looked up, expecting to see Twilight, but instead...

"Sweet Manticore penis, it's Princess Celestia!" Kitty shouted, promptly waking the rest of the band. Each of the now conscious members of Iron Pony and it's staff now fumbled around, trying to figure out what was going on. As soon as they saw Princess Celestia, they each dropped into a low bow. Scootaloo shot Kitty a glare that could pierce the heart of a dragon before dropping into a deep bow before the Princess-before falling onto her face.

"Would it be so much to ask for a cloud? We're regulars here anyway." Scootaloo groaned.

"Maybe if you learned how to balance in the morning it wouldn't be such a problem." Sweetie teased.

"You're one to talk, Sweets! At least /I/ manage to /sleep/ properly at night! Scootaloo responded.

"Like hay you do! You hit me in the face three times this morning!" Kitty joined in.

"Oh my gosh! You learned how to form logical sentences!" Scoot replied in mock surprise. "At this rate, you'll stop being completely obnoxious within thirty years!"

"Buck off, Scoot! I'm /never/ obnoxious!"

"You woke us up by yelling 'Sweet Manticore penis' as loud as you could." Scootaloo responded with a grin.

Princess Celestia facehoofed as the mares in the group continued arguing. After she was finally too irritated to take it anymore, she cleared her throat as powerfully as she could.

"My little ponies, if you'll-"

"Who you callin' little?!" Kitty snapped. Before Princess Celestia could issue a reprimand in the Royal Canterlot Voice, Scootaloo punched Kitty in the face-hard."

"Scoot, what in the hay-"

"Sorry, Princess. She's just mad because she's short." Scootaloo assured.

"Am not!" Kitty retorted.

"Can't really deny it, Kat." Jimmy added.

"Shut up!"

"She's also not that bright...sorry, didn't mean to interrupt." Scootaloo gave a nervous chuckle under the Princess' angry gaze. Celestia turned to face Kitty.

"Interrupt me again, and you'll be finding a room on the moon tonight. Understand?"

Kitty swallowed and nodded. It was not often that Princess Celestia lost her temper, but every one of her subjects knew that her wrath was /not/ something to instigate. Celestia smiled warmly.

"Good. Now, your antics last night technically could be considered an attack on my castle. Do you know what the charge for that is?"

The eyes of each of the seven ponies in the jail cell went wide as they shook their heads. Celestia continued to smile warmly.

"Believe me, the death penalty would be a mercy by comparison to the punishment for an attack on the castle." Celestia said, her tone disturbingly calm and motherly. "However, I don't feel like cleaning up that much blood right now, so how about I just let you off with a warning this time?"

Somehow, the seven young ponies eyes managed to get even wider. They nodded gravely as a guard unlocked the door and opened it. The seven jailed ponies filed out one-by-one, gave the Princess a short bow, and scurried out of the prison. The guard that accompanied Celestia turned to look at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Ma'am, with all due respect, I do believe you just made all of that up."

Celestia flashed him a wry grin.

"You're right, I did. But they don't know that."


End file.
